ISP Reviews by b6gdhh1nid

I've been using AAISP for about a year. I was a relatively satisfied Be customer fishing about for a new ISP after that firm was acquired by Sky.

I probably happened upon AAISP from an article about government attempts to sanitise the internet via ineffective web filtering. Once I'd seen the website and AAISP's attitude to filtering, censorship and privacy, I was half way to signing up. Asking around, one or two friends were already using AAISP and didn't hesitate to recommend them.

Overall I am extremely happy to be an AAISP customer. The changeover was easy, the preconfigured router being pretty much plug and play. The supplier change was handled without much needed from my end. The router AAISP supplied is the same brand that Be provided, but a different model. The user interface is virtually identical, and it's easy to use, if a bit slow. I would prefer it if AAISP supplied a router with (or compatible with) open source software (eg OpenWRT) but so far I've had no problems with the functionality.

It seems that there is an assumption on AAISP's part that their customers have a lot more technical expertise than customers of the big industry players. That's probably true, but that could well be down to AAISP's communications and content in the first place. I feel they could do more to attract people alienated by some of the techy language but who would love to be customers due to their public position on important issues. It's good that you get through to someone who understands any issues you might be experiencing, but I've had to ask staff to repeat explanations in English as I don't understand the acronyms and other technical terms they sometimes use.

I also feel the AAISP website and user account interfaces could do with a major redesign with the help of a UX designer and information architect. Products/services need to be more clearly structured and segregated from other information and advice, and user account information/data is hard to understand without an explanation. It has the look and feel of something built by and for technical people for internal use, rather than for customers of all levels of skill and experience.

Things haven't been completely plain sailing. I've had replies to PGP encrypted emails in plain text which included my original text, defeating the point of using encryption in the other direction. Also, when we moved home, a mistake made by AAISP staff meant that getting our supply up and running again was delayed by a few days. We were also double charged a month around the same time. That said, as the mistake was at their end, AAISP put effort in to solve the issue quickly, so credit is due again.

I am endlessly impressed by the stand the company and its MD take on issues of freedom of speech and privacy. Indeed, how many other ISPs even accept PGP encrypted emails to their support team, even if they sometimes respond a bit strangely?

As for the internet supply itself - it's always worked fine for me, running one PC over Ethernet and several devices over Wi-Fi in a fairly large flat. I could find cheaper elsewhere, but you get what you pay for. In that sense, AAISP is excellent value. I've recommended AAISP to a number of friends and I know that some have become customers as a result.