Optus just announced a new set of Boost features for its web and mobile services that work in different ways, but leave us both scratching our heads.
Optus launched it in response to customer survey data showing that “over half of Australians value high-speed internet over a clean house” (yes, really), Optus said its Internet Boost feature in particular promises its customers to give that faster speeds they crave.
Take it to the max
Internet Boost allows Optus NBN customers (not available for 5G Home Internet customers) to increase the speed of their connection to the maximum speed available at their address for a fee of AU$5 for 24 hours.
This means that if you have an NBN 50 plan with Optus but (in some cases) have a fiber-to-home (FTTP) connection or a hybrid fiber-to-coax (HFC) connection, you can boost the NBN 1000 level. Optus currently advertises typical evening speeds of 400 Mbit/s at this level.
Superloop and Exetel offer customers a similar feature in the form of Speed Boost Days. These allow their customers to upgrade their speed to the next available speed tier, i.e. an NBN 50 plan would increase to NBN 100. Both providers offer five free Speed Boost days each month (extras cost AU$2) and days can be credited up to a total of 30.
Optus charging for a similar service seems like poor value by comparison, but the possibility of possibly experiencing super-fast or ultra-fast speeds if you’re used to standard NBN 50 sounds compelling. However, as mentioned earlier, this is only possible if your connection type allows it.
If you have another connection type, you can only upgrade from an NBN 50 plan to NBN 100, which is the same as Exetel and Superloop’s free service.
In the widget below you can see how Optus’ NBN plans compare to Exetel and Superloop.
VIP service for mobile customers
Optus’ Mobile Boost feature is a bit more confusing. The company says this feature will allow mobile customers “to prioritize their mobile data connection,” adding that it will only be “subject to availability” and that it “works best when signal is good.” Each boost only lasts for an hour.
The intent seems to be that if you’re in an area of increased network congestion, you’ll be put at the front of the queue.
If you’ve found yourself attending major events like concerts or sporting events, you may have found it nearly impossible to upload content to your social media feed or send messages using apps that require a data connection. Optus Mobile Boost seems to solve this problem. How Optus is able to do this remains unclear, as it appears to have nothing to do with data speeds (the company does not impose a data speed cap on any of its cellular plans).
We’ve noticed the feature is now available – albeit in beta form – in the My Optus app and will try to test it out next time we’re in a big crowd and Instagram stories rolled into one Unsuccessful search attempt must be confirmed by our followers.
Optus is currently offering its mobile customers five free, one-hour boosts each month while the feature is in beta form. Once out of beta, the feature will be available as an add-on for AU$2.
You can learn more about Optus’ Boost features by heading to the company’s website and viewing the carrier’s current range of postpaid SIM-only plans below.
