December OzEmail News

letter from the editor

Welcome to the first edition of OzEmail News!

Firstly, a big hi! to you all. There's so much happening at OzEmail at the moment that we've decided to kick off a monthly newsletter to keep you up-to-date with all the latest innovations and improvements that are coming your way.

Early this year, OzEmail was purchased by home-grown ISP iiNet. This was a huge coup for both parties, with the iiNet/OzEmail alliance making us the wholly Australian-owned no. 3 ISP in the country!

On top of that, OzEmail now offers some of the most innovative broadband plans around. "broadband2+" is the next generation of broadband, with customers on our network experiencing speeds of up to 24,000kbps. How fast is 24,000kbps? Well, dialup is 56kbps and standard broadband is 256kbps - so 24,000kbps is light years ahead of what most people are used to.

Part of the purpose of this monthly newsletter is to keep you on top of what's happening around OzEmail month to month, so make sure you check out the 'general news', 'support & services' and 'tech knowledge' sections regularly.

A reminder for those heading out over the next week or so that we offer a free webmail "Vacation Messaging" service to notify people who email you while you're away. Vacation Messaging can be turned on or off through your toolbox.

Finally, from all of us here at OzEmail and iiNet, we wish you all the best over the holiday break and look forward to sharing with you all the new and exciting technologies we have planned for 2006.

Mark Welker
OzEmail News Editor

general news

telstra pricing
You may have noticed the small increase in our phone line rental rates this month? Telstra has imposed a phone line rental increase of $3.41 per month to all its wholesale customers, including OzEmail. We don't think this is fair and are challenging this increase. But we regret that we have to pass this cost onto our customers.

The rental increase passed on by Telstra is $3.41, making our new ozephone monthly line rental $33.36 ($29.95 + $3.41).

On a positive note, we've started selling broadband in regional areas again. However, Telstra price increases have forced us to make some changes to our broadband plans. Our two lowest broadband2 plans, the starter and PAYG plans, will now operate at 512kbps. A speed of 512kbps is nothing to be laughed at, it's what most of our competitors offer, but we recognise that for some people it is a reduction from the previous speed.

We're committed to delivering the best value plans we can, so we've increased the download quotas of both those plans and made the PAYG plan flat rate - meaning no excess download fees if you go over your quota. Those customers bundled with ozephone and on our network (our DSLAMs) will not be affected by the speed change. These changes will only apply to customers on a broadband2 plan.

What is our position on these Telstra tactics? Well, in order for OzEmail and the iiNet Group to provide competitive services and commit further investment to regional and rural areas, we believe pricing must regulated in a fair and transparent way by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

We believe that the ACCC should be given improved regulatory powers in the Telecommunications sector to ensure the industry can become as competitive as it is in other countries.

Healthy competition means a better deal for all customers and, following comments from the Communications Minister, it appears the government is also firmly committed to improving competition in this industry.

Other good news is that moves are already well underway to reduce our dependence on Telstra for both our phone and broadband services. Our network (commonly referred to as our DSLAM network) is constantly expanding with more than 60,000 of our customers already connected. The iinetwork allows us to offer the fastest speeds your line can handle - up to 24,000kbps - as well as to introduce new and innovative phone products like the upcoming integrated voice over the Internet service.

When it comes down to it, we're number three in Australia for Internet services. So we have to work three times as hard to get and keep your business. It's a healthy situation that suits us and our customers - it's why our broadband customer base has grown primarily through word of mouth.

broadband2+ speeds of up to 24,000kbps launched!
We've cranked our broadband2 plans up to maximum speed with the launch of broadband2+ up to 24,000kbps. Only available on our network (DSLAM network), broadband2+ uses ADSL2+ technology to deliver speeds as fast as your line can go - up to 24,000kbps.

The network is our premium broadband network that we're rolling out across the country. It's currently available to more than 60,000 iiNet/OzEmail customers and by June 2007 we expect to have 90% of our metro customers covered. You can check whether your area is connected by going to the DSLAM rollout schedule.

To get broadband2+ you simply need to bundle with iiphone - giving you great call rates, a free VoIP line and $120 off your broadband bill every year. If you're waiting for our network to arrive in your area, check out our broadband1 plans (with our without ozephone) giving speeds of 512kbps and 1500kbps.

Find out more by visiting our broadband plans page or read the broadband2+ FAQ below.

iiNet awarded ISP of the year!
Readers of the PC enthusiast magazine Atomic , recently voted iiNet "ISP of the Year" in the their fourth annual awards ceremony. From Atomic : "While other publications nominate products for awards, chosen by editors, the Atomic readers are an incredible community and it is their passion and knowledge that makes their choices ones that really count."

It's a great honour for us to get this kind of recognition from such an enthusiast crowd. We thank Atomic and it's readers for mentioning us and for keeping these awards going year after year.

Our heavy broadband plan was also awarded best broadband plan in the 1500k and over category by Money magazine. The category was judged on speed, cost over a 12 month period and the download quota. Money magazine says "when it comes to web surfing and sending data over the net, iiNet blitzes the field."

open day report
The 2005 iiNet Open Day saw more than 200 people filing through the iiNet Perth office and participating in the many technology and Internet special interest seminars that took place over the course of the day.

We flew OzEmail customers Ivan & Sharona Lazarus and Catherine & Gerard McKay over for the event to check out the iiNet inner workings and have a chat with our Managing Director, Michael Malone.

From Ivan & Sharona:
"Just a short note to thank you (and iiNet) for the wonderful experience we had last week. It was great to meet you all in person, and to go behind the scenes of your dynamic company to see how everything fits together. I was especially impressed by your future plans for the call centre operations, and greatly appreciated the opportunity to talk privately with Michael and gain his insights. Sharona and I had a fantastic time, and once again, we thank you for this opportunity !"

From Gerard:

"I'd just like to say that I really enjoyed the day. I'd never been to Perth before so the trip itself was a whole new experience. I found all the forums of great interest and thoroughly enjoyed meeting and talking with Michael. As I'm looking toward a career in the computing industry myself, I found looking behind the scenes at iiNet most rewarding."

If you missed out on attending the Open Day, you'll soon be able to view all the seminar presentations from the iiNet website.

buddy bonus competition
Did you know that most people choose iiNet and OzEmail by word of mouth? Well, to help thank those who spread our praise, we've put together Buddy Bonus referral competition. You can win $12,000 worth of Panasonic Home Entertainment Gear for you and a friend (that's one each!) by referring your buddies to our broadband service.

It's easy to enter, simply visit www.buddybonus.com.au , fill out yours and your friends' details and click enter. Once they've signed up and are active customers, you'll receive confirmation of your entry into the draw. Plus, get them to bundle with iiphone and we'll double your entry. How cool is that!

We'll be drawing two winners each month (an existing customer and the friend they referred) until March 2006 and you can refer as many buddies as you like. The more you refer the more chances you have to win. Enter now

support & services

customer service update
With the OzEmail integration now complete, call volumes for our Contact Centres have now begun to stabilise and we believe that we are over what was our busiest month to date. We had over 270,000 interactions with our customers during November, which placed a tremendous amount of pressure on all our Contact Centres. Once again, we apologise for any inconvenience that our customers may have experienced during this period and we are confident that its business as usual from here on.

Those who attended the 2005 Open Day may have seen a presentation on the Virtual Call Centre (VCC) project with our Perth Contact Centre Manager, Neil Harrison, and national Workforce Manager, Glen Lewis. So far the project is running on schedule with the first phase due to be completed by mid January 06, and further enhancements to the system due mid year. This project is a significant step to upgrading our Contact Centre infrastructure and will ultimately see our Contact Centres operating as one cohesive unit, rather than separate independent sites.

One of the main features of the VCC will be Skills Based Routing (SBR). SBR allows us to use call line identification to locate individual customers in our database before they connect to an staff member. Once the caller details are found in the database, the call is then routed to the next available staff member trained to deal with the caller's product/service.

If the caller rings back at a later stage for any reason, this "intelligent routing" will attempt to direct the call to the last staff member the caller dealt with, making for a much more personalised customer experience.

Of course, we have a whole bunch of other hi-tech "smarts" tucked up our sleeves...but they can wait till next month's edition.

customer feedback
From Karen in WA:

"I would just like to offer my congratulations to the iiNet team. Being in a customer service area myself we often hear only complaints and no praise. So I would just like to say that iiNet can be very proud of its customer service people. Nothing is too much trouble, you are never fobbed off with technical jargon and most importantly, if you are told they will get back to you, they will. Well done."

Feedback from Arnon in WA after dealing with one of our support technicians Jeremy:

"In October I took my laptop with me to Europe because I needed to use a WIFI internet connection whilst travelling overseas. When I was in Spain I had a great deal of trouble connecting to a local internet provider hot spot. When I called up the providers support line, I got an incredibly unhelpful support member who basically couldn't help me at all. I was informed that there was no one else available that could help me until after the weekend.

At that stage I ended the conversation and decided to try ringing up iiNet support instead (I've been a member for around 5.5 years). It must have been around 2-3am in the morning in Perth when I called and I got an exceptional, efficient and highly knowledgeable chap by the name of Jeremy.

He was particularly quick witted and spared me the waffle, and we fixed the problem almost immediately. I realised then the different levels of support on offer from different providers. I'd often taken for granted the high level of support I get from iiNet - not anymore. I have all three of my families signed up now. Great work!"

Thanks for your feedback guys.

virus alert

top 5 viruses reported to sophos in november

1. W32/Sober-Z
2. W32/Netsky-P
3. W32/Mytob-GH
4. W32/Mytob-EX
5. W32/Zafi-D

List provided by Sophos

Remember, all OzEmail plans come with industry leading Sophos Brightmail email anti-virus and anti-spam protection that is automatically kept up to date with the latest virus threats. However, to fully protect your system, we recommended that you use our email anti-virus in conjunction with a personal anti-virus product such as those here.

tech knowledge

DSLAM expansion news
The number of customers on our network (DSLAM network) is expected to jump from 50,000 in October to more than 70,000 by Christmas. It's proof that our DSL network is expanding at a rapid rate, and that more people are experiencing the advantages of being on our network.

We're continuing to build DSLAMs and migrate existing customers over to our infrastructure. Migrations scheduled for December include Carlingford NSW, Sunnybank QLD, Caulfield VIC, St Kilda VIC, and Glenunga SA.

For an up-to-date look at all our DSLAM build and migration dates, check out the DSLAM Rollout Page.

broadband2+ FAQ

What is broadband2+?
broadband2+ is a bundled product (requires iiphone or an iibusiness pack) delivering the next generation of broadband with speeds up to 24,000kbps. The broadband2+ bundle is exclusive to the iiNet/OzEmail broadband network, what we call the "iinetwork", and takes full advantage of the latest ADSL2/2+ technology. Broadband2+ can deliver a maximum download speed of 24,000kbps, however, the exact speed you experience will depend of several factors, including the quality of your phone line, distance from the exchange, your hardware, and the speed of the website you connect to. What you can be sure is that on broadband2+, you'll be downloading as fast as your line can go.

Is broadband2+ the same as broadband1?
No, broadband2+ is a product line that allows speeds up to 24,000kbps (24M) using ADSL2+ technology. It is only available on the iinetwork (the DSLAM network in tech speak) and as a bundled plan (with ozephone or the business pack). If you are not on the iinetwork (places are limited and it hasn't reached all areas yet) or you don't want to bundle, then you can still get speeds of up to 1500kbps on our broadband1 plans - that's at least 5 times faster than standard 256kbps broadband.

What sort of speeds can I expect if I am on a DSLAM?
If you're on the iinetwork (our DSLAM network) and you choose to bundle your broadband account with ozephone or an business pack, we can offer ADSL2+ speeds as fast as your line can go, up to 24,000kbps. Reaching higher speeds will depend on the distance you are from your exchange and the quality of your line. Additional factors to be aware of include signal strength, the number of joins in your line, and factors within your home such as unfiltered devices and lengthy phone cords. In addition, you may require new ADSL hardware to access speeds up to 24,000kbps. If you are an existing customer you can purchase new ADSL2+ hardware through our members' accounts (toolbox).

Do I need special equipment or hardware to get broadband2+ (ADSL2+) speeds?
An ADSL 2/2+ compatible modem or router is required to access speeds up to 24,000kbps (ADSL2+ speeds) on our DSLAMs. You can purchase ADSL 2/2+ compatible hardware supported by iiNet at any time through toolbox. If you require assistance determining whether or not your hardware is compatible, call us or email us at ozsupport@ozemail.com.au.

tech tips
Thanks go to Jeffa in Provisioning and Ben in Customer Service for this month's tips.

Had power issues recently? Power spikes due to storm activity?
If you've recently lost power in your home even for a brief second, your modem might not be working its very best. Try turning it off (plug and all) for 5 minutes, and then turn it on again. Power cycling your modem is often a good fix for these kinds of problems.

If you change any usernames and passwords, remember to make the same change for any other applications or devices, such as your router too. Because the router is always on, customers often forget to update the changes they've made for the router.

people

staff profile

Name: Mark Reilly
Title: Test Analyst - Applications

How long have you been with iiNet and what roles have you had?
I'm currently approaching 7.5 years with OzEmail/iiNet. I started in Customer Service as a Technical Support Rep, and then progressed through various roles within the department. About 18 months ago I left Customer Service and joined the test team as a Test Analyst.

What does your current role involve?
Mostly I test the releases that our developers create. This includes updates to all of our online services such as Self Service, Registration, and the homesite as well as many internal applications. My job is to do everything I can to break it before it goes to production. That way when our customers use their service, it works fault free first and every time. We also perform a lot of other testing including evaluating new modems, software and other products that we consider reselling as well as new technologies that we are interested in.

What's been your most memorable or satisfying experience at OzEmail?
Pretty much any time we get some new piece of hardware to test, I love being able to play with the new technology before anyone else gets to. Usually when something new comes in we pull it out of the box, and half of the staff on the floor show up to see what we have this time.

What are the major changes you've experienced since becoming part of the iiNet Group?
A lot has changed for me. The most obvious change is within the systems and applications that I test. The old OzEmail applications have now been integrated into the iiNet systems which has meant learning all of the new systems from scratch. Fortunately the guys from iiNet are a friendly and helpful bunch so that hasn't been too much of a problem.

Looking to the future, what (technology/product/event) are you most looking forward to at OzEmail?
For selfish reasons I'm really looking forward to getting an DSLAM at my exchange one day. Other than that I'm looking forward to some of the services that we can now look at introducing as a result of our high speed DSL products, such as streaming Video On Demand.

customer profile

Name: Chris Dugdae
Customer since: September 1995
Location: Hilton SA

How long have you been with OzEmail?
When I came back from Japan in September 1995 I joined up to OzEmail at a small booth in Queensland. I've been with them ever since.

What do you use the Internet for most?
I use the internet mostly for email, both personal and business related. I was forced a while ago to retire early, and ever since, I rely heavily on the Internet to keep in touch with people. I also use my OzEmail account to maintain my own personal webpage - which I've kept going now for more than 10 years.

Why did you originally join up with OzEmail and what has been your experience since?
I started with OzEmail because I wanted a nation-wide provider - one that I could use wherever I am located because I travel around a lot. Since joining I have experienced absolute reliability. I have always been able to connect quickly and have never had a problem sending or receiving my emails. That to me is the most important aspect; reliability. My ten year anniversary was in September and my web page has never been down in all that time.

Are there any upcoming internet technologies that you are looking forward to?
Well I would love to see better security on the Internet. OzEmail's anti-spam filter works perfectly, I used to get around 600 spam emails a week - now I get around 20. So I can't complain about that. But I still feel there are improvements to be made to other areas of Internet security. I'm also very interested in the potential of VoIP.

competitions

valiant tickets giveaway!
To celebrate the release of the new animated adventure, "Valiant", Roadshow Films have kindly provided us with 35 in-season double passes to the film to give away to readers.

To be in the running for this prize, please email competitions with "OzEmail Valiant Competition" in the subject line, and provide your username, full name, and address by 5pm WST, December 30, 2005, along with the answer to this question: What is the new speed limit on broadband2+? (hint: you'll find the answer in the news section).

Winners with the correct answer will be drawn at random and prizes sent by mail.

games

party gaming madness
with Niaal Holder

December. A time to relax, a time to party, a time to prepare tenuous newsletter introductions founded on unrelated concepts.

Come Christmas day, we're likely to enjoy ourselves immensely - for about the five minutes we're getting presents. Once the euphoria of getting up at 5am to try on new socks and eat an entire Cadbury Milk Tray has passed, you're in a bit of a bind: you're stuck with cousins, siblings, whatever, staring down the barrel of a day as festive as the Financial Times.

So check out my top five party games for just such an occasion:

1. Mario Kart (SNES, N64, GC, DS)
Quite what Nintendo were smoking when they dreamed up a kart racing team of mushroom-hatted animals and moustachioed plumbers, I can't really say. But look beyond the visionary quirks and see this one for what it's worth: diabolically hilarious racing antics, cartoon cars burning round unrealistic tracks, shooting turtles at each other and shaking beavers off their bonnets. Take a long hard look at your gaming career if you haven't played this already.

2. Hyper Olympic (arcade, MAME)
The dawn of a new era in competitive video game technology. What if the success or failure of your game athlete, no matter the scene, was determined entirely by the rate at which you pushed the fire button? Profound and remarkably good fun. Swim, run, throw, jump and hurdle your way into repetitive strain injury, as Hyper Olympic separates mens' thumbs from boys'.

3. Fuzion Frenzy (xbox)
Not so much a game, as 100 tepid mini-games bundled into the overfuhrer of combo titles, FF provides a gaming enchilada with a number of fillings - group games to test your reaction time, spatial perception and how heavily you can mash your keypad in the name of victory. Laugh with delight as your onscreen avatar quotes the same tired jokes while you bump off your competition time and again. Games like this make your hands bleed and your mates stop being mates. Perfect for Christmas.

4. Mario Party (N64)
Words like 'rules' and 'fair' can sod right off, this is Mario country. Get your mates round for a laugh, pick up a controller each and see how long it takes for one of you to break it over the TV screen in utter frustration. It's a board game on your telly for flip's sake. But seriously, it's got fun happening in parts. Mini games that involve theft, beating each other with hammers and leaping butt-first onto sharpened wooden stakes can only end in hilarity.

5. Tekken (PSX, PS2)
Not really a party title, though this one-on-one beat 'em up invariably forces its way into focus as a means of settling family disputes. While the seasoned pro can master the 27-string button combinations to force their opponent to eat their own feet, rank amateurs can blindly pad away with ham fists to equally devastating effect.

For a case study in button mashing, visit http://www.miniclip.com/merrychristmas.htm (flash required). Beat my score of 77 if you think you're hard enough.

I'd also like to close the year off by announcing that I beat my mate three times in a row at Street Fighter, as Zangief. Merry Christmas Seb.

flicks & tunes

album of the month
Tea & Sympathy - Bernard Fanning

Bernard Fanning, the lead singer of pub-rock Gods, Powderfinger, goes solo with a collection of fourteen songs fusing together elements of country, rock and some sly pop. Maybe the "tea" in the title refers to the English cottage most of the songs were recorded in. But as for the sympathy...well, Fanning describes the making of the album as a "sometimes deeply personal, occasionally difficult but mostly a thoroughly rewarding time which deepened my love for the song writing process." I love a good sad song.

movie of the month
Valiant - Rated G

For those of you not up on your pigeon related trivia, apparently during World War II pigeons saved thousands of lives. In fact, pigeons earned 31 of the 53 top honours given to animal heroes during combat. And you're about to know a lot more about pigeons, with the new computer-animated feature "Valiant". The comedy-adventure tells the story of a brave-but-undersized pigeon named Valiant who aspires to be part of the elite Royal Homing Pigeon Service. As well as featuring the vocal talents of Ewan McGregor, John Cleese, Tim Curry and a host of other British favourites, the film also comes from the producer of "Shrek" and "Shrek 2".

And if you want to win double passes to the movie, check out the competitions section above.

movie review
King Kong - Rated M

Following on from his epic Lord of the Rings Trilogy, director Peter Jackson returns to the "epic" movie genre with a re-telling of King Kong. I don't think I've ever actually sat through the 1933 original from beginning to end, but I know enough about it to report that Jackson's version is close to the original storyline, albeit a lot bigger, longer and probably cost a zillion times more to make.

Kong is big, in fact pretty much everything on Skull Island is big. The insects, the dinosaurs, the worms, the hammed up characters. The whole movie is a massive piece of work, and clocking in at 187 mins, it's a lot of "bigness" to digest. Now I'm a big fan of Jackson's earlier movies and of Lord of the Rings - I think he has a great eye for small details and twists a piece of his own personality into each film he makes. It's clear when you're watching a Jackson film, and I like that. That said, if Return of the King and King Kong are the future of Jackson enterprises, I won't be rushing to see his next flick.

Watching King Kong I got the distinct impression that halfway through Jackson stepped out of the office and let his special effects team WETA take over the movie. Forged in the fluorescent blur of some computer graphics laboratory, King Kong suffers from an extreme case of special effects obesity. While this may tie in with the original's "wow look there's a big ape" factor - special effects aren't as original as they were in 1933.

A prime example is in one of the many tiresome "dinosaur chase scenes" where every character, monster, rock, plant and water droplet is computer generated (CG). The result is a seething mess of CG tumbling across the screen. It's fake and boring not because you can see the change from green screen to CG rag dolls, but because it's ludicrously over-done and disobeys even the most basic laws of physics. Scenes like these go on for more than 10-20 minutes at a time, where animators fulfil some kind of crazed-ambition to push as many "life-like" but completely lifeless creatures on screen all at once. Whereas I felt Lord of The Rings (with the exception of ROTK) had a healthy balance between insane CG work and real action, nothing in King Kong is real past the first hour. Everything is shiny, rubbery, and airbrushed.

The length of the film is unforgivable. I struggled to stay awake as the love story between Ann and Kong developed to a point where I was waiting for them to start slow dancing. And then they started slow dancing... Personally, I couldn't wait for Kong to die, despite the fact that I liked him more than I would have if Andy Serkis (Gollum) wasn't behind the performance. The film drags because of Jackson's habit of cramming every character (even minor ones) with a side story - cook, the stowaway, the mysterious captain, the accountant, the ship's mate... Most of these side stories could have been cut out and all that would have been lost is a couple of scenes of men crying and clutching hands (something Jackson continues to rely on to develop "character").

With Kong, Jackson is stuck in the detail he revelled in for the Lord of the Rings films - yet here he is working from a story which is far less complex. A lot of people go to the movies to see special effects blockbusters like Kong. But few expect to sit there and take it for three hours. Don't get me wrong, there are some truly creepy scenes (like all of those involving large insects) and some exhilarating ones, and there is nothing that I really hated about the movie at all.

I don't hate the big ape, he just bores me.