When you sign up with Comcen for ADSL you will also receive the following:

• 12 FREE mailboxes
• 20GB of FREE PIPE data (excluding Starter, Senior, Entry Level and 5GB Shaped plans)
• 50MB of FREE webspace
• FREE data uploads (excluding Starter and Senior plans)
• FREE backup dialup
• FREE e-mail and telephone support from our Australian based call centre
• FREE Virus and Spam scanning for your email
• FREE webmail access to check your emails from anywhere

If you have any questions on what these additional features are or how to use them, please refer to our Support section or contact us on 1300 300 324.

There are some infrastructure limitations which may prevent you from getting ADSL at your requested location. These can be, but are not limited to:

• RIM/Pair Gain Systems
• Transmission loss
• Inactive phone number
• Number not on Telstra network

Generally we are unable to determine if your requested location falls under these categories until we start processing your order. They can result in anything from a small delay to the provisioning process or a complete inability to acquire the service at all. The best way to proceed is to simply apply for your desired service as most of the time there is no problem.

Please have a look at our speed range guide below. These are the speeds you should be experiencing based on what plan you are on.

• Dialup users should expect about 5 KB/sec
• ADSL1 Services:

Plan Speed	Minimum acceptable speed (in Kilobytes)
256/64kbps	17 KB/sec (138 kilobits per sec)
512/128kbps	39 KB/sec (312 kilobits per sec)
1500/256kbps	110 KB/sec (880 kilobits per second)
8000/384kbps	110 KB/sec (880 kilobits per second)
20000/1000kbps	110 KB/sec (880 kilobits per second)

• ADSL2 Services:

Line length from the exchange	Minimum acceptable speed (in Kilobytes)
Less than 1KM	1.5Mbps (150KB/sec) - 20Mbps
Less than 2KM	1.5Mbps (150KB/sec) - 14Mbps
Less than 3KM	1.5Mbps (150KB/sec) - 7Mbps
Less than 4KM	1.5Mbps (150KB/sec) - 4Mbps
Less than 5KM	1.5Mbps (150KB/sec) - 2Mbps

A ‘Churn’ is when you transfer your current ADSL service over from one provider to another. Most ADSL1 services can be churned over to Comcen without an issue. Please click to see the list of ISPs that participate in the Fast Churn process. Unfortunately at this stage, there is no ratified Churn scheme for ADSL2 services, however in some rare cases and depending on a number of variables; these services can be provisioned earlier than normal.

We at Comcen, pride ourselves in providing unrestricted access to the Internet. We will not block or restrict access to any site on the web, because we believe that it is up to our users to determine what they view over their Comcen connection. There may however, be instances when filtering the Internet content that comes though your computer would be in the best interest of family members such as children or teenagers. If this is the case, we would like to link you to the following third party programs that allow you to block unwanted content from your computer. The following programs are some of the more widely used filtering programs and each program has its own pros and cons. This is by no means a complete list, as there are many other filtering programs available.

• Net Nanny
• Cyber Sitter

Also, the newest versions of both major browsers (Internet Explorer or Firefox etc) come with built-in ratings protection features that let you control what kind of web pages can be viewed on your computer.

Please be aware that these are third party programs and unfortunately Comcen's technical support department is unable to provide support for these software programs. Any technical questions should be directed to the program manufacturer's technical support or website.

For a full explanation of PIPE please visit www.pipenetworks.com.au. Comcen does participate on the PIPE network and you can connect to other PIPE users to reduce your metered monthly data allowance. Please double check your account and plan details to find out how much unmetered usage you are permitted.

Anything that you do over the internet will count towards your data cap. This includes any browsing, email, music or video streaming as well as your normal ‘downloading’ of files. Data transferred over the PIPE network can count towards your unmetered cap (depending on your plan); anything else, even simple browsing, counts towards your normal usage limits. Uploads are not counted on most plans (please check your plan details for further information).

Your peak/off-peak times depend on when you signed up. Its best to check your usage meter in ‘My Account’ to determine what times your plan is set to. Generally speaking, they will be set to either 7am-midnight/midnight-7am, 2am-midday/midday-2am or 2am-9am/9am-2am. Please check your plan in detail to verify what your specific plan's peak and offpeak times are.

To check your ADSL usage, use your Comcen username and password (for most customers this will be the same as your default email address) to log into the ‘My Account’ section of our website. There is a ‘Check my Internet Usage’ link in the menu on the right hand side. Please see our My Account guide in the Support section for further instructions.

The short answer to this is yes. Comcen Support is quite capable of configuring modems from most providers. There are occasions where providers can ‘lock’ the modem to their settings, making it difficult or impossible to use it with a Comcen service, but we will do our best. If we are unable to configure the modem for use with us, it may be necessary to contact the manufacturer or purchase a new modem completely. If you purchase a new modem from us, we will test and pre-configure it for you before posting, to ensure that connecting is as painless as possible.

A Large Pair Gain (RIM) is technology used by infrastructure builders to service more telephony services to an area, if you are connected to a RIM you are not connected directly to your phone exchange as there's not a complete copper path - generally this means you are only able to receive ADSL1 as this technology has been made compatible, ADSL2+ unfortunately is not.
If you are connected to a simple pair gain (PGS) system sometimes even receiving ADSL1 can be troublesome as there needs to be sufficient infrastructure to remove you from the Pair Gain System. If your order is successful you will be removed from the PGS and given a working service, this is known as line transposition, please note that transposition orders can take several weeks to be completed, but if there’s no available infrastructure they will generally be rejected within the normal 3-4 days.

Our wholesalers are constantly upgrading exchanges so as to allow ADSL access to as many people as possible. It is a good idea to keep checking our website for any changes as we update our system regularly. Alternatively, you can speak with our Sales team on 1300 300 324 and we may be able to arrange alternate Internet access for you.

Yes. To provision a Comcen ADSL service, a working dial tone must exist on the phone line. We are unable to place an ADSL order if there is a current order pending on the line. This includes waiting for a phone service to be provisioned.

If you purchase a modem from Comcen we do provide a 12 month replacement warranty if the modem is found to be faulty. The best way to prove this is to try another modem at your premises or take your modem to another service location and try it there. Please bear in mind that if the modem is returned to us and we find no fault, charged may be incurred for our time. Also note that postage costs should be covered by you. If you need any assistance with this please contact support on 1300 300 324.

We pre-configure all modems sent out from us. By doing this, we are able to confirm that these are working devices before we post them out to you. This means you should simply be able to plug the hardware in and start using it upon completion notification from us. Should there be any problems with your service once you have received your modem, please contact us on 1300 300 324 to troubleshoot the connection.