Introduction
The rather plainly titled Adam Internet started in Adelaide, South Australia in 1992. They’re an ISP offering broadband, dialup, web hosting, voice over IP and various other services.
Internet Services
At the speed of 512 cobs download and 128 cobs upload, Adam Internet offer a 5 GB pre-paid and 5 GB off-peak limit for $39.95 a month and 10 GB pre-paid and 10 GB off-peak for $44.95 a month. For the highest available speed of 8192/384, Adam offer from 10 GB pre-paid to 10 GB off-peak for $64.95, up to 80 GB pre-paid and a further 80 GB off peak for $129.95.
What is meant by pre-paid and off-peak? Adam Internet, like many other Australian ISPs, offer extra downloads for off-peak times when the load on the server will be less. This means that with a 5 GB on / 5 GB off plan, users can download up to 5 GB per month during peak periods, and a further 5 GB at off-peak times.
While the more expensive prices may be too much for those on a budget, they will be worth considering for those using the internet often, and who regularly download large multimedia files. 80 GB is over 20 DVD’s worth of data, so if you’re planning on making a lot of downloads, this kind of plan would be worth taking into consideration.
Adam Internet also offer a number of services that, should they be downloaded, are not counted towards the monthly limit and do not incur any extra charge. These include the game server GamingSA, one of the largest in Australia, offering game servers for online play. Also offered are a number of file servers, which provide various game demos, utilities and mirrors to various popular websites.
While some internet companies will charge users who go above their monthly download limit, Adam Internet instead choose to shape the speed of downloads after they breach this point. Meaning, the fast speeds associated with broadband internet will be taken away for a speed that resembles that of dial-up internet. For this reason, it’s worth noting how much you’re downloading in the first weeks of the month, otherwise you might have to face a week or more of slow download and upload rates.
Pros and Cons:
Pros:
- Generally competitive pricing
- Offers ADSL 2+ in selected areas
Cons:
- A higher cost for faster and more frequent downloads
- No option to bundle with phone service plan for a discounted service
Conclusion
Like many other small internet companies, Adam Internet’s services are highly competitive. It would be worth comparing these other companies with the more popular brands such as Telstra and Optus, to see which plan suits your budget and your online needs.
