Do You have a Slow Internet Connection?

Is your Internet connection driving you around the twist? Is your connection speed so slow that you lose patience and give up before you download the page you need?

The solution may lie with your ISP (Internet Service Provider).

On July 10, the Sydney Morning Herald published an article by Asher Moses titled, "ISP's speeds almost dead as dodo, customers say".

If you're connected to Dodo, and I know that a significant number of our U3A people use them, then you need to read the whole article. You can find it HERE.

Of course, there can be other reasons for slow connection speeds and often it's just our lack of experience that prevents us from finding a solution.

Dial-up is cheap but you could go and have lunch in the time it takes for some sites to download. Worse, if you were to attempt to download a YouTube video or a software programme, you could well attend your favourite U3A class while it was happening. Dial-up also prevents you from using your telephone while you're on the Net. Of course, it is very cheap but be warned by somebody who's been there/done that—you'll never be a happy Internet user if you only have dial-up. Its useful for collecting your email, but even then it's too slow if somebody sends you an attached photograph.

So Broadband, or ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) as it is usually known, becomes a necessity for anybody who wants to use the Internet to good effect.

After struggling with Dial-Up for a couple of years I went to ADSL and then, when it became available at the end of 2007, ADSL2+.

I was disappointed at first because it was no faster than my earlier ADSL connection but I persevered for a while before ringing TPG (my ISP for the past eight years). The tech found the solution in seconds and fixed it in less than five minutes. My modem had been programmed for ADSL1 rather than ADSL2 and, using his brain and my fingers, we re-programmed it by telephone. Now the thing works perfectly and I'm in Internet heaven.

Why should this be of interest to you? Because if you are having problems with your Internet connection your ISP is well qualified to help you find the solution. Well—most are well-qualified. My personal experience with Optus (while attempting to transfer the U3A website to them) was that their support staff are undertrained and are far less able to assist than their TPG counterparts.

And remember, whoever your ISP is, you will almost certainly be phoning an off-shore Help Desk. Do be prepared to spend some time listening hard to either Filipino or Indian accents. Don't be put off by that—these people are used to dealing with subscribers who have Australian ears and, in my experience, all have been very patient.

It's worth the trouble.