Gotalk jumps aboard the Naked DSL bandwagon

The bundled service, dubbed gotalk's ‘Naked’ Communications Package, combines ADSL2+ internet; free VoIP account; free local (300 calls), national (300 calls) and mobile calls (100 calls) and a $100 per month mobile cap plan. It costs $95 per month and comes with a total 9GB of download capacity (3GB peak, 6GB off-peak).

“gotalk’s ability to bundle this great VoIP service with its Naked DSL make its Communications Package unbeatable and the only plan of its kind in Australia,” said gotalk CEO Steve Picton.

For customers not interested in bundling services, gotalk also offers straight data plans for its naked DSL service. Its other naked DSL offerings include; the Great Escape 9 plan with 9GB (3GB peak, 6GB off-peak) for $49.95 per month; its Great Escape 36 with 36GB (12GB peak, 24GB off-peak) for $69.95 per month and; its Great Escape 60 with 60GB (20GB peak, 40GB off-peak) for $79.95 per month.

Picton expects the plans to appeal to both consumers and businesses alike.

The telco joins several ISPs already offering or in the final trial phase to offer naked DSL, including iPrimus, iiNet, Internode, Exetel, Adam Internet, Amnet, and TPG.

Financially, the plans stack up well against gotalk’s competitors. For instance, iinet’s comparably priced $49.95 per month plan offers only 4GB of data capacity. But perhaps gotalk’s biggest differentiator is that its plans only count downloads in the data quota, so customers will not be penalised for the amount of data they upload.

With its similarly priced plans it’s little wonder that gotalk is positioning itself as a direct competitor to rival ISP, iiNet, which includes uploads towards data quotas in its naked DSL services.

“I believe we will see a significant take up of naked DSL plans in 2008 as there is an increasing number of people who use their mobile phone and don’t need the fixed phone - however of course they do need access to broadband. Naked DSL is obviously a cost effective solution offering access to broadband without having the expense of a telephone connection”, Picton said.

Connection fees to gotalk's naked DSL offerings depend on the contract term selected by the customer; no contract - $149; 12 months - $99; and 24 months – free. A provisioning time of seven to 21 days is also expected.

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