The nation’s second-largest telco Optus has revamped its broadband plans, including new “Unlimited” download quotes and sizable allowances even on lower-end plans — for example, 120GB for $59.99 a month on a two-year contract.

“We have listened to feedback from our customers and developed a range of broadband plans that combine extra data with greater value and more freedom,” said Optus’ Consumer marketing director Austin R. Bryan in a statement this morning. News of the plans was first broken by iTnews in late March.

Customers on Optus’ naked DSL offering can now sign up to plans offering them 120GB, 150GB and 170GB of monthly data downloads for $59.99, $69.99 and $79.99 a month respectively. The telco will shape connections down to 64kbps after that point.

The telco will also offer two “Unlimited” plans, which do technically allow unlimited downloads, but will be shaped down to 256kbps speeds after 100GB or 200Gb of data is downloaded, for $109.99 or $139.99 per month respectively. All of the plans are on two-year contracts with a $249 connection fee, and the lower plans have separate on-peak and off-peak quotas.

The company is also offering incentives for customers to bundle its home phone, broadband and mobile services together.

“As customers download more music, TV shows and movies or access more user-generated content online, Optus is thinking bigger and giving customers the option to use the internet what they want as much as they’d like to, without having to worry about download limits or excess charges,” Bryan said.

The news comes as Australian ISPs are increasingly offering their customers so-called “Unlimited” broadband plans which do not have a set amount they can download.

For example, in mid-February AAPT launched what it described as “24/7 Unlimited Broadband”. The plan does not come with data caps or throttling, and includes home phone line rental and music downloads and streaming for $99.95 per month on a two year contract.

“This is a milestone day for Australia as AAPT’s benchmark decision will force our major competitors to do the same thing. All Australians will benefit from AAPT leading the way with unlimited broadband,” said AAPT chief executive Paul Broad at the time.

Image credit: Optus

Related posts:

1. Optus revamps mobile broadband plans
2. Optus adds unlimited iPad plan
3. ACCC sues over Optus’ “unlimited” marketing
4. vividwireless revamps broadband plans
5. Oh dear: “Unlimited” doesn’t mean “Unlimited”

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1. Sean Kaye
   Posted 27/04/2010 at 1:24 pm | Permalink | Reply

   Within six months, all the ISP’s are going to need to have a REAL unlimited plan – no shaping. We’ve overpaid in Australia for content for far too long – floodgates are starting to open. I am happy to pay $100/mth for true ADSL2+ speeds and unlimited bandwidth – again, no shaping.

   With online gaming, streaming video and those kind of technologies on the rise, we’re going to need this.

   • Renai LeMay
     Posted 27/04/2010 at 2:15 pm | Permalink | Reply

     You reckon Sean? I don’t think we’ll really start to see unlimited plans kick off for real until there are enough streaming video services in Australia to make it worthwhile. FetchTV from iiNet and soon Internode is a good start, but I think there is still a ways to come.

     I was scratching my head this morning wondering what I could possibly download on AAPT’s unlimited plan and I have to confess I wasn’t really sure. It would be interesting to see how many people sign up for the new AAPT and Optus offerings.

     But yes, I agree, we have overpaid for far too long.

2. barry
   Posted 27/04/2010 at 2:28 pm | Permalink | Reply

   welcome news, but:

   The telco will also offer two “Unlimited” plans, which do technically allow unlimited downloads, but will be shaped down to 256kbps speeds after 100GB or 200Gb of data is downloaded, for $109.99 or $139.99 per month respectively.

   that’s not really unlimited, is it? it’s just that the shaped speed is less restrictive than 64kbps.

   • Renai LeMay
     Posted 27/04/2010 at 5:05 pm | Permalink | Reply

     Well it’s not really unlimited, no, but it’s unlimited in the sense that you won’t be hit with any fines if you download a stack of data once you’ve been shaped ;)

     • Steve Montgomery
       Posted 28/04/2010 at 2:12 pm | Permalink | Reply

       If that’s your definition of unlimited then the majority of ISPs that shape (iiNet, Internode etc) have been offering similar plans, but no one calls them unlimited. 256kbs is hardly broadband speed either, I’d consider a minimum of 1MBit+, such as TPGs currently shaping speed for some plans. No mention of TPGs “true” unlimited, currently being rolled out to selected exchanges around Sydney for $75/month?

3. Phil Edwards
   Posted 27/04/2010 at 4:21 pm | Permalink | Reply

   These plans are not bad at all.

   Well… they arent bad if you are connected to an exchange that Optus supports for ADSL2.

   I am not and I continue to pay for overpriced ADSL1 offerings.

   • Renai LeMay
     Posted 27/04/2010 at 5:06 pm | Permalink | Reply

     I think the only proper response to this is: “Bring out your NBN!” :)

     Apologies to Monty Python.

4. Matthew Hatton
   Posted 27/04/2010 at 4:38 pm | Permalink | Reply

   Dear ISPs,
   Unlimited means without limits. Your constant abuse of this term is possibly doing more hard to our language that all those teenagers doing “txt spk”.

   Love, Matt

   • Renai LeMay
     Posted 27/04/2010 at 5:08 pm | Permalink | Reply

     I don’t think they’re listening Matt. You need to get about 4,000 people together to create a Whirlpool thread about it before that will happen ;)

     • Matthew Hatton
       Posted 27/04/2010 at 5:30 pm | Permalink | Reply

       I give up. The English language is almost as good as dead. Between marketers abusing it for their own ends, and young people becoming largely illiterate I may as well give up and go back to monosyllabic (that means only one syllable..or noise…that makes up a work, kids) grunts.

       • Renai LeMay
         Posted 27/04/2010 at 6:00 pm | Permalink | Reply

         The solution is just to twist the marketers’ words to your own nefarious ends ;)

5. Darryl Adams
   Posted 28/04/2010 at 3:35 pm | Permalink | Reply

   Broadband is expensive. (Telstra) I have no idea why (Telstra)

   It would be intresting the cost / revenue of the overseas pipes and how much they charge ISP’s (Telstra). I also dont know if there is much peering between ISP’s as companies like iinet do not offer free bandwidth on peering services on PIPE (telstra).

   I wish I knew who to blame (telstra)

6. John
   Posted 15/11/2011 at 12:20 pm | Permalink | Reply

   NO NO NO NO NO OPTUS.

   the ACCC WILL GET YOU.

   this is EXACTLY what telstra did with their crappy 10 or 12gb liberty ‘UNLIMITED’ plan that would get slowed down to an UNLIMITED 64kbit.

   this is deceptive and misleading conduct by the word saying unlimited. how is this unlimited optus? in what way shape or form is 100 gb unlimited?

   all the other plans offered by every other ISP slow down the data after X amount. This is exactly what you are calling unlimited.