Have trouble getting ADSL? Vividwireless arrived a few years ago to try and help fix these problems. They offered a totally wireless broadband service, which at the time used a system called WiMax. It was a small success but was somewhat let down by its own popularity — there simply wasn’t enough bandwidth to go around. But now their back, with new and improved broadband plans for all!
If you’ve rolled the unlucky dice when it comes to internet availability, you’re almost out of luck. Then there’s others happily streaming Netflix in HD, as you sit at home waiting days for files to download, or you’re using up your mobile data just to get stuff done.
Is Vividwireless’ broadband service right for you? Photo: Compare TV.
Times change, though, and Vividwireless – now owned by Optus – has moved on to 4G technology. Using the 2300 MHz band of the extensive Optus network, Vividwireless delivers wireless home internet to the masses.
As far as 4G-based plans go, Vivid (we’ll call them that for short!) has some great value ones on offer. There’s even, remarkably, one with unlimited data (something unheard of in the wider 4G wireless data market).
iPrimus + Fetch NBN Bundle
Get a Fetch Mighty and 1 channel pack + unlimited NBN on a 24-month contract.
Dodo + Fetch NBN Bundle
Get a Fetch Mini and 1 channel pack + unlimited NBN on a 24-month contract.
Vividwireless’s Plans
You’ve got a choice of two plans for your new Vivid service. Both of them run at the same 12 Mbps maximum speed, differentiated by the download limit on each. At the base level there’s a $70/month plan with a 200GB allowance – that’s not a lot of data, especially for home use. But if you only visit the occasional website, pay bills and send emails, this is the plan for you.
One other important thing to note – unlike data plans through mobile providers, there’s no extra charge if you reach your monthly download limit. Instead, your speed is drastically slowed down for the rest of the month (to 64 Kbps – dial-up modem speed). At least you won’t get any nasty surprises on your bill.
If you’re thinking of streaming video, game downloads and all the other data-hungry things the internet can throw at you, you’ll be far better off with the unlimited plan. This is $90/month and lets you download as much as you need. Within, of course, the limits of the company’s acceptable-use policy.
The not-too-punishing catch – in this otherwise too-good-to-be-true offering – is the speed. Vivid limits its download speed to 12 Mbps and upload speed to 1 Mbps. That’s by no means awful – it’s faster than vanilla ADSL and the same speed as the bottom speed tier of the NBN. And if you’re looking at Vivid because you can’t get broadband (or get it at speeds of 5 Mbps or worse) then it’ll still seem like a godsend.
Don’t expect to leverage the sort of speeds you can download with your smartphone data plan – it’s simply not feasible to operate a fixed wireless broadband network on 4G where everyone can max out the limits (up to 300 Mbps with the right hardware). If you want to stream Stan and Netflix in HD, Vivid will be perfect for you. If you want to download gigabytes of movies and games, you’ll need a lot of patience.
| Plan | Inclusions | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Optus Ultra | NBN Speed 50/20 Unlimited Data Includes Phone Line | $75/month Min cost $1800 over 24 months |
| Optus Ultra Entertainment | NBN Speed 50/20 Unlimited Data Includes Phone Line Includes Optus Sport Includes Fetch TV box + channel pack | $90/month Min cost $2160 over 24 months |
| My Broadband | NBN Speed 12/1 NBN Speed upgrades available Unlimited Data | $80/month Min cost $2045 over 24 months |
Does Vividwireless provide me with a modem?
To connect to Vividwireless, you need their custom modem/router. You can buy it directly from them, or at The Good Guys and Harvey Norman retail stores (it costs $199 outright). You can plug it into your computer or network, connect and activate your service, and be online in minutes. If you sign up to a 24-month contract, Vivid will give you the modem for free. It has all the features you need from a home router too, including four Ethernet ports to plug your wired devices into, a USB port and built-in SIM making it ready to go without messing around.
Vividwireless customer service and support
You can get in touch with Vividwireless’s customer service and support team any time between 9am and 11pm Monday to Friday, or on weekends from 9am to 10pm – just pick up the phone and call 1300 327 837.
If you’d rather put your question in writing you can get directly in touch with Vividwireless’s customer service team via the support page on their web site, and the right person will get back to you as soon as possible.
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Setup
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Installation help
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Help with the Vivid mode/router
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Connection questions
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Technical support
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Payment
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Changes to your plan (available monthly at no charge)
Should You Get Vivid?
If you’re struggling to get a usable internet connection at home – or you can’t get one – Vividwireless could well be the answer. There’s no troublesome installation and it’s completely portable; you can take your home internet connection to a friend’s place and use it there. If you move house, just pick up the modem and take it with you.
Vivid doesn’t use the word “broadband” to describe their service, because while it’s fast compared to most ADSL connections, it’s subject to the usual quirks of 4G – coverage, black spots, congestion on the nearest tower, and so on. Don’t expect cutting-edge speed. But the ability to get online without hassle and get around the annoyances of ADSL is the killer feature.
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