IN BRIEF | Optus is now offering increased cable broadband speed of up to 20Mbit/s, but only those on the latest MyHome and Fusion plans can get it.

The speed is double the "up to 10Mbit/s" that was previously offered, and matches Optus' advertised ADSL2+ speed. But users on old plans will not be able to get the higher speed unless they switch to new, less attractive offers.

"We're not telling customers on the legacy plans they have to migrate, but if they want the 20mb/sec speeds plans they can move across to the MyHome or Fusion plans to access those speeds", an Optus spokesperson told idm.net.au.

The latest Optus plans now count uploads as part of the data quota, for example. Recently, Optus also changed its popular Fusion plans so that instead of shaping once the quota was reached, it now charges 15c/MB in excess fees. Instead of taking half an hour to clock up $300, users on the higher speed cable plans will be able to do it in just 15 minutes.

Links:

• Media Release  (Optus, 17 Dec 2007)
• Optus Fusion stings users with excess fees  (Whirlpool, 3 Dec 2007)
• Optus Doubles Cable Broadband Speed with a Twist  (idm.net.au, 17 Dec 2007)
• Optus doubles cable broadband speed  (APCMag, 17 Dec 2007)