Dodo vs iPrimus on Fetch: How Do They Compare?

As one of Australia’s pioneering independent phone and internet providers, iPrimus has a long history of quality service. Dodo, meanwhile, has a long history of deep discounting and crazy bundle deals. Both companies have come of age — and both offer Fetch TV with their plans.

The thing you might not know about iPrimus and Dodo is that, as of a few years ago, they’re effectively almost the same company. Not only are both owned these days by giant networking provider Vocus, but they even operate their customer support and sales out of the same place — but make no mistake, they’re approaching the way they sell broadband (and Fetch TV with it) very differently.

What Makes iPrimus and Dodo Different?

That’s really the big question, isn’t it? If you’re dealing with the same company at the end of the day, does it make a difference which one you choose? As it turns out, yes it does — each provider is targeting a different type of internet user with their offerings, with iPrimus aiming more for the long-term, get-everything-at-once package customer, while Dodo aims for the people who are looking for something more keenly priced that offers a better bang for the buck.

In practice, the pricing between both is very similar (at times it has effectively been the same, while sometimes Dodo comes in a little cheaper) but iPrimus tends to bundle things with your service as mandatory that, with Dodo, are optional extras.

The important thing when comparing the two is to note that the default prices quoted on iPrimus’s site are at the high end (fastest speed, longest contract) while Dodo quotes the cheapest possible.

What Do iPrimus and Dodo Deliver?

The thing the two providers have in common that separates them from most of their competitors is access to Fetch TV. While it’s been a bit of a “young upstart” provider in the subscription TV market since it launched in Australia several years ago, Fetch has found itself a legion of fans. It now has a customer base that’s grown exponentially with the launch of their Mighty and Mini boxes — the former of which is probably the best value DVR (Digital Video Recorder) on the market.

It’s the combination of access to all the key on-demand streaming platforms — Netflix, Stan, YouTube and the rest — alongside a robust and really affordable pay TV offering (delivered via broadband) that’s proven to be a winner. And with Foxtel’s price changes for their Foxtel Now streaming service making packs like Docos and Kids unavailable to all but the rich, it’s likely that many people will be starting to look again at Fetch TV and think that is might be something worth switching internet providers for.

Fetch TV’s channel packs cost $6 each per month, or you can get all of them for $20 — still $5 cheaper than Foxtel Now’s entry-level pack. The choices include:

So all up, that’s 50 channels for 20 bucks — and as far as general-purpose channel-surfing entertainment goes, that’s hard to beat!

If you opt for the Mighty box, you can also record up to six channels at once from free-to-air TV, and the huge hard disk in the Mighty stores up to 585 hours of shows. If you opt to buy the Mighty, it’s a very reasonable $399 — but you might not have to. More on this in a moment!

How Does Dodo and iPrimus Bundle Fetch TV?

The biggest difference between Dodo and iPrimus when it comes to Fetch TV is the way you go about obtaining it with your plan — and there’s quite a difference between the two. Let’s look at two typical examples — both NBN plans, at the top available speed (50 Mbps) with unlimited data on a two-year contract.

With iPrimus, you’d choose their Entertainment bundle, which gets you your broadband connection along with a home phone line with unlimited local and national calls. You get a NBN-ready modem thrown in on the contract, and you get the first month free (credited a few months in). And you also get the Fetch TV Mighty box included, along with one channel pack of your choice. Basically, you get everything you need to get connected and start streaming online, watching and recording. Total price: $110/month.

Over at Dodo, you have to go about it in a more granular way. You choose Unlimited data ($60/month) then the 50 Mbps speed tier ($15/month) then, if you want a phone line, that’s free — but unlimited local and national calls will set you back an extra $10/month. Then you need to pay for the rental of a Fetch box — the Mini (non-recording) for $15/month or the Mighty for $20/month — we say go the Mighty, no question. Then you’ll need a channel pack ($6/month). Total price after all that’s included? $111/month.

But the thing is, Dodo lets you bundle Fetch with any plan, while iPrimus reserves it for their Entertainment bundle. So if you wanted to opt for the slowest speed, only 101GB of data and add Fetch, you can (we wouldn’t recommend it on such a low data limit, though!).

But if $110 sounds right for super-fast NBN broadband, all your phone calls covered, and all the entertainment you can stream, then you’ll be in a great spot with either.

User Experience

One thing that Fetch TV does really well is the overall user experience, and their partnerships with specific internet providers makes sure everything runs smoothly and hassle-free. If you’d like a full rundown on the features of Fetch TV and its two terrific set-top boxes, be sure to head over to our review of the Mini and Mighty and get all the details!

How to Access Fetch When Signing Up

One minor point when it comes to the signup process — while iPrimus makes it pretty clear and simple what you’re getting when you go for the Entertainment bundle, Dodo buries its Fetch TV offering on a separate page and the option to add a Fetch box and service isn’t even on the initial signup page — we believe it’s something you add before the process completes, but we can’t test that ourselves without switching internet providers! We’d like to see Dodo make this element of their service a lot clearer in the future.

Is This Something You Want to Fetch?

The easy answer is a resounding YES — the Fetch TV platform has matured and grown over the years, and you rarely hear anyone who uses it having even one negative thing to say about it. They use it for free-to-air, for Netflix and Stan, for premium channels and for movie rentals, and it all just works.

iPrimus and Dodo may take different approaches on how they offer the Fetch TV service to you, but the end result will — more or less — cost you about the same. iPrimus’s offering is more straightforward and simple — you know what you’re getting up front — but it’s also less flexible. We think it’s great that customers have a choice. No matter which one you pick, you’ll get blazingly fast reliable broadband, and a new way to watch TV. It’s very much worth investigating.

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