Internode and Optus ink new SHDSL deal

Australian alternative broadband provider Internode has signed a new wholesale agreement with Optus which will reportedly allow the former to dramatically lower the price of its Ultra SHDSL services by as much as 50%. According to CRN Australia, the new deal between the two companies will see Internode drop the cost of its lowest level SHDSL service to AUD300 (USD275) per month, while the top-end service will now cost AUD1,200 per month, less than half of the AUD2,450 it was previously. Internode product manager Jim Kellett said that his company had combined the price reductions from the new Optus agreement with other recent international capacity deals ‘into one big price reduction’ for its Ultra SHDSL services. Internode’s SHDSL is available from over 350 exchanges nationwide, and Kellett said that the new, lower prices are expected to double uptake for the service.