What is Easy Reach?

Easy Reach leverages Australia's largest broadband network to deliver great value plans, Australia-wide. Key features of Easy Reach plans include:

• A range of monthly quotas, including 5 GB, 60 GB, 100 GB and 250 GB per month.
• A monthly bundling discount (available in selected areas only), if the telephone service associated with the ADSL is an Internode NodeLine phone service.

What speeds can I expect from Easy Reach?

Unlike previous fixed speed ADSL services such as 1500/256k, Easy Reach services are offered without a guaranteed specific speed result.

We expect all services will have a data rate of at least 1500/256 kbps.

Above that, the service is offered on the basis that the line speed achieved is offered on a best effort, no guarantees basis:

• The first choice is for an Easy Reach service to be deployed on an ADSL2+ capable 'OPEN2' DSLAM port, with a maximum possible speed of 20 Megabits per second downstream and 1 Megabit per second upstream.
• If this capability is not available, then the service will be deployed on an ADSL1 capable 'OPEN1' DSLAM port, with a maximum possible speed of 8 Megabits per second downstream and 384 kilobits per second upstream.
• There is a small number of existing fixed speed (e.g., 1500/256k) ADSL services that our wholesale access supplier is not able to upgrade. Specifically, these are services that do not pass the wholesalers 'service qualification' test for ADSL. These services will be provided at the maximum available speed of 1500/256 kbps.

Your actual speed will hence be somewhere in between 1500/256 kbps and 20/1 Mbps.

As well as the technical aspects described above, there are numerous factors including the quality and length of your phone line, your software and router capabilities, and interference. There is a minimum assured bandwidth of 1500/256 kbps.

According to our wholesale access provider, about 50% of customers on the ADSL2+ (OPEN2) access network achieve speeds of 10 Mbps or higher, while around 70% of customers on the ADSL1 (OPEN1) access network achieve speeds of 6 Mbps or better.

Please note that the achieved 'sync speed' on variable speed ADSL services such as Easy Reach can vary over time. These services are extracting the maximum possible performance from your current broadband infrastructure, telephone line and ADSL modem environment. This environment can change over time—hence, so can the sync speed.

I play online games, what can I expect from Easy Reach?

These plans offer the highest speeds made available to us by our wholesale infrastructure provider, nationally—however we are not able to control the latency or performance of these plans directly.

Like all Internode ADSL 'best effort speed' broadband services, there are a variety of approaches our customers can take to maximise the performance of their service.

The Internode support team is happy to assist customers who wish to optimise the speed of their Internode ADSL services with advice and assistance to achieve that aim.

What if my Easy Reach service is connected to a Telstra RIM cabinet?

In this circumstance, Telstra Wholesale have notified us that the speeds available may be limited to a maximum download speed of 3 Megabits per second in some (unspecified) locations, where insufficient backhaul capacity exists to support higher speeds at this time.

We regret that we are currently unable to determine in advance, which RIM connected customers may be subject to the 3 Mbps maximum download speed limitation.

How does Easy Reach compare to Home ADSL?

We've designed Easy Reach to deliver greater value than our previous Home ADSL plans. In particular, Easy Reach supersedes the Home ADSL Standard and Fast plans, which are no longer available for sale.

These are the key differences between Internode Easy Reach and previous Internode Home ADSL plans:

• Quota is much larger at the same price points, and is counted as the sum of uploads plus downloads. Previously Home ADSL plans had smaller quota allocations, and counted download traffic only. Select the Power Pack option if you prefer download counting only.
• Excess traffic shaping is 128 kbps symmetrical. For comparison, previously Home ADSL plans had more restrictive excess shaping of 64 kbps symmetrical. Select the Power Pack option if you prefer even faster excess shaping of 256 kbps download, with no shaping of upload.
• Dynamic IP Address. Like the previous Home ADSL plans, Easy Reach is a dynamic IP address broadband service. Select the Power Pack option if you prefer a static IP address.

What if I go over my quota?

You can check how much quota you've used by logging into My Internode from the Internode homepage using your Internode username and password. Once you've logged in, click on "ADSL Usage & Stats" in the "My Services" column.

If you go over your monthly quota on an Easy Reach plan, your connection is slowed to 128 kbps for the rest of your month.

There are no excess quota fees. However if desired, you can purchase a Data Block to top up your monthly quota on demand.

Select the Power Pack option if you prefer even faster excess shaping of 256 kbps download (with the option of Data Blocks); or select the Business Pack options if you prefer excess usage charges with no shaping (Data Blocks are not available with this option).

What about other Home ADSL plan features?

Everything else about the Easy Reach plan is the same as Internode's previous Home ADSL plans:

• A Fixed Monthly Charge—No excess charges, simply speed shaping of any 'excess' traffic beyond your monthly quota inclusion.
• Quota on Demand—If desired, you can purchase a Data Block for a quota top up on-demand—your spend is totally under your control.
• Anytime quota—Use the Internet whenever you like—Internode quota isn’t parcelled into 'friendly' & 'unfriendly' hours of usage.
• Unmetered Content—Including over 100 online streaming radio stations; the extensive games.on.net server farms for low ping gaming; massive mirrors for common file downloads; ABC iView, TiVo and fetchtv online content and more.
• Your Choice of Contract—New customers can choose from discounted setup on a 24 month contract with an early cancellation charge; or pay the full setup fee and have no early cancellation charges—it's your choice.
• Local Expert Support—Our award-winning customer support is available 7 days a week.
• Email Accounts—Up to 5 free email accounts, all with email spam and virus filtering & webmail access and more.
• Free Webspace—Free 50 Mbyte webspace for personal, non-commercial use.
• Dialup Account—Includes a dialup account, for when you're away from your broadband connection, with 10 included hours per month then $1/hour pay-as-you-go. Dialup access is available Australia-wide at local call rates.
• Global Roaming—We offer a global roaming facility for dialup, Wi-Fi and hotel Ethernet access across the world via iPass (separate usage charges apply).
• Security Protection—You'll be protected by our complimentary Network Firewall, which assists in protecting your home network and helps to stop spam and viruses from spreading. You are welcome to disable that protection via an online web page if you wish.
• NodePhone Ready—Add NodePhone Voice over IP (VoIP) and save money on phone calls.
• Choose your Hardware—Bring your own ADSL router, or buy one pre-configured from us.
• Dynamic IP Address—These are 'Layer 2' dynamic IP services, suitable for home broadband access.

A good rule of thumb when trying to figure out whether Easy Reach supports a given feature of an Internode Home ADSL plan is: if it isn't mentioned as being different... it's the same!

What are Power Packs and Business Packs?

Internet enthusiasts and business customers have slightly different requirements of their broadband service; and these are addressed via the Power Pack and Business Pack options.

Please note that you can only choose one (or neither) of these options—a service cannot have both types of Option Packs at the same time.

The Power Pack Option

Internet enthusiasts—who may have previously selected a SOHO ADSL plan—can simply add a Power Pack option to their Easy Reach plan. The Power Pack option is $10 per month, and adds the following features:

• Static IP—A static IP address (instead of a dynamic IP address) is provided, making these plans suitable for hosting servers and operating Internet Virtual Private Networks.
• Free Uploads—Quota consumption is counted in the download direction only.
• Faster Excess—Excess traffic—beyond the monthly inclusion—is shaped at 512 kbps down / no shaping of upload. And you can still buy data blocks if required.
• Included Subdomain—Choose your own subdomain name under '.power.on.net' (on request and subject to approval by Internode) and link it to your server.

You can request your subdomain name via a support request. Please note that existing Internode SOHO ADSL customers that are plan changing to Easy Reach with a Power Pack can retain their '.soho.on.net' subdomain if they would prefer (in fact, both subdomains will work).

The Business Pack Option

The needs of business customers are addressed by adding a Business Pack option to the Easy plan. The Business Pack option is $30 per month, and adds the following features:

• Static IP—A static IP address is provided, with the option of a /29 IP subnet available on request and at no additional charge.
• Free Uploads—Quota consumption is counted in the download direction only.
• Unshaped Excess—Instead, excess traffic is charged at 0.5 cents per Mbyte (download direction only) up to a maximum of $299 per month. Please note that Data Blocks are not available with the Business Pack option.
• Included Subdomain—Choose your own subdomain under '.on.net' (on request and subject to approval by Internode) and link it your servers.
• Priority Business Support—The Business Pack entitles you to priority access to our award-winning, local customer support team, and your ADSL is backed by our Service Level Agreement with defined performance and availability targets.

You can request your subdomain name or IP subnet via a support request. Please note that existing Internode Business ADSL customers that are plan changing to Easy Reach with a Business Pack will retain their current '.on.net' subdomain and any associated IP subnet.

Can I Get Easy Reach?

You can check for the availability of Easy Reach services in your area by entering your address or phone number into our Online Coverage Checker.

New Easy Reach services will be delivered if there is a suitable DSLAM with free ports in your local exchange, and you have a direct copper path—within acceptable transmission limits—to it.

What Payment Options Are Available?

Please refer to our payments page for information on how you can pay Internode.

Plan Change to Easy Reach

It's easy to plan change to Easy Reach. Any existing Internode ADSL service that is delivered via a Telstra Wholesale DSLAM port is eligible, including:

• all 'fixed speed' services at 256/64k, 512/128k, 512/512k & 1500/256k. This includes the 'Starter' and 'Standard' plan families, as well as many previous Easy Broadband (1.5M) services.
• all 'high speed' services including Fast ADSL, and earlier products such as ADSL High, Plus, TwoPlus and many previous Easy Broadband (high speed) services.

Simply request an upgrade to an Easy Reach plan via our online plan changer.

For most customers this should be a seamless process, with the changeover occurring on your service rollover date. Even better, there's currently no once-off charge associated with this change—the speed upgrade charge is currently being waived!

A History of Easy Reach

At Internode, we're constantly working on improving our products. Here's a history of how Internode Easy Reach has developed over time.

Easy Reach was launched on 17th November 2010, for Internode ADSL services that are delivered via the Telstra Wholesale broadband access network. It replaced a range of earlier plans, including ADSL Standard and ADSL Fast. Three quota points—5, 60 and 200 GB—were available.

On 8th February 2011, the Power Pack and Business Pack options were made available on all Easy Reach plans.

On 7th June 2011 the Easy Reach 30 Special plan was introduced, featuring a low price 30 GB plan option when bundled. Availability of this plan was restricted to a limited number of exchanges.

Most recently, on 12th July 2011, the Easy Reach plans were replaced with the current range of 5, 60, 100 and 250 GB quotas. The 12 month minimum contract term for existing Internode ADSL customers changing to Easy Reach was also removed for these new plans.