Business Phone and Internet - Stick or Switch Telstra/Optus

Hogg on 05/10/2016 - 07:45

I'm new to business. I have a decision that's been bugging me. I've asked on other forums as well but I just wanted to get all the advice I can get from the forums with members I respect.

Some of it will be copied from my other forum posts. Sorry!

I recently took over a small business and an existing Telstra account the previous owner had. The current monthly bill is a bit steep. I think the plan is very old school.

There are 2 phone lines and an internet account.

Talked to the local Telstra business centre. I can shave $60 off the monthly bill while at the same time getting a new landline phone, modem, and a 4G back-up system in case the internet drops out at no extra cost. Also download allowance would be increased significantly.

With Optus, I can shave a further $100 off. They assure me no downtime as it's just a matter of porting the phone number and connecting the new internet service. My recent experience with Optus for home has been absolutely horrible so I'm a bit sceptical. Another business owner I know recently took the switch and he had a few days downtime.

Points in favour of Telstra – 4G back-up, guaranteed no downtime.
Points in favour of Optus – Save $100/month

The only thing keeping me from switching is fear of downtime during the porting process. Optus promises everything will go smoothly however that's what they promised when I switch my home bundle. I ended up having 2 weeks without phone or internet plus horrible customer service.

Keeping the primary phone number and minimal downtime is imperative for my business.

Anybody have personal experience in porting business phone numbers?

Instead of a 4G back-up, my back-up could be hot spotting off a phone. Would that be a good idea?

My business management system is all cloud based so slow shitty internet (which has been happening sometimes) has been very hurtful to productivity.

Poll Options

  • 7
    Stay with Telstra, they are worth the $100/month premium
  • 1
    Switch to Optus, the porting process will be ok and the services are adequate.
Internet

Comments

  • apple2016 on 05/10/2016 - 13:03

    The only thing keeping me from switching is fear of downtime during the porting process. Optus promises everything will go smoothly however that's what > they promised when I switch my home bundle. I ended up having 2 weeks without phone or internet plus horrible customer service.

    I tried to switched my home ADSL from telstra to optus. Optus did not have me connected for 2 weeks. After being fed up of Optus customer care I cancelled the contract and they did not charge me as the service was never connected. I am not sure if the prioritize business customers.

    • Hogg on 05/10/2016 - 13:06

      Mate that's pretty much what happened to me for my home except it finally got connected in the end. Still pretty poor service.

  • [Deactivated] on 05/10/2016 - 14:52

    porting numbers should never cause more than 15 mins downtime. the problem most people have is that their new connection isn't setup in time. if you have a business site, there should be enough capacity to install new services while your existing ones stay active.

    • Hogg on 05/10/2016 - 15:31

      So the extended downtime is from the new connection not set-up in time? Is that for a brand new line?

      So porting in a commercial area should be smooth?

      • [Deactivated] on 06/10/2016 - 11:25

        porting is the same regardless of the underlying connection. it's just a routing change made by the phone carriers.

        • Hogg on 06/10/2016 - 12:39

          I see so if there's any downtime, it's because the underlying connection hasn't been made in time?

          During that time, the Telstra connection should be active until porting though?

        • [Deactivated] on 06/10/2016 - 12:49
          +1

          @Hogg:

          yes, the Telstra service will remain active until the port happens.

        • Hogg on 06/10/2016 - 12:51

          That definitely makes me more comfortable with switching.

  • Hogg on 12/10/2016 - 10:16

    Just in case anyone cares, I decided to stay with Telstra because:
    Has poor customer service when contacting Optus
    I really want access to the back-up 4G

    Slightly regret it because:
    It's more expensive than Optus
    No guarantee that the 4G back-up will make the connection any faster
    Apparently I unknowingly joined up to the VOIP-based system which will be hard to port away from

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