iinet has released a new rental plan for its BoB modem for Naked DSL. In case you haven’t heard about BoB, it is an ADSL2+, Wireless and VoIP enabled Belkin modem especially branded for iinet. BoB is super easy to set up which is one of its most attractive features. This article is about the pros and cons of the rental plan, so for more details on the BoB modem itself visit www.iinet.com.au or read our iinet BoB Review.

Cost of iinet BoB Rental

The rental is $9.95 per month on top of your monthly broadband plan. This isn’t a rent-to-own situation so as long as you are renting the modem you will have to pay the monthly fee.

See all the BoB pricing here.

Over a 24 month period this works out to $238.80. If you wanted to buy the iinet BoB modem with no contract then it is $369. If you buy BoB upfront on a 24 month plan the discounted price is $269. These prices include the modem and a phone handset. So after 24 months you’d be slightly ahead with the rental option except for the fact that you don’t own a modem. So if you want to keep Naked DSL (or ADSL2+) then you’re going to have to buy a new modem or keep renting BoB at $9.95 per month.

Pros of iinet BoB Rental

There are two key advantages of renting BoB.

1) You don’t need to pay upfront for a modem. BoB isn’t the cheapest modem on the market and so spending $269 to $369 upfront to get BoB is a big deal. Especially when the Naked DSL connection fee is $79.95 to $150 as well. Naked DSL will save you money – especially if you make a lot of home phone calls and get them for free with iinet VoIP. But it’s still a decent investment if you’re buying a modem and paying a set up fee.

If you want to get iinet Naked DSL and get the simplicity and features that BoB provides, and don’t want to pay upfront, then the rental could be a great option for you.

2) If you join iinet on a 24 month plan with the BoB rental, you also get the $79.95 set up fee waived! So you can get started with iinet Naked DSL with no set up fee and no upfront payment for a modem. It’s a pretty compelling proposition if you don’t like paying upfront for things.

Cons of iinet BoB Rental

The big downside to renting your BoB unit is that you never own the modem. If you want to own the modem that is! If you’re the type of person who will use a modem for 3 or 4 years until it dies on you, then renting BoB is going to cost you more in the long run ($477.60 over 4 years).

So if you decide to stop renting BoB after a couple of years, that’s fine. iinet supplies you with a postal bag to send it back. But you’ll then need to buy your own BoB modem or go and buy another brand of ADSL2+ modem (with VoIP and Wireless if you want similar features to BoB).

What Should You Do – Buy or Rent?

It really comes down to personal preference and available cash flow. Some people prefer buying – they buy their house, they buy their appliances and buy their cars. You don’t have to buy a BoB modem to connect to iinet Naked DSL, so there are cheaper options available. And some people prefer to rent and that’s equally fine and comes with its own benefits. Do what suits your preference and your financial situation (we are not certified financial advisers so please go and get some expert advice if you want to know if buying or renting suits your situation better!)

If you don’t want to pay upfront fees to join Naked DSL, but know that it will save you money if you sign up, then the rental option with no set up fee is very attractive to get you started quickly and easily.

Visit www.iinet.com.au for more information BoB rental, see the iinet Naked DSL plans or sign up with iinet

What is iinet BoB? It’s all over the front of the iinet website currently in case you missed it.

At first glance, BoB looks like a 4 port wireless modem with a phone handset to use with Naked DSL VoIP. But when you look a little deeper it’s far more than that. BoB is a fantastic All in One device which is super easy to set up and includes a stack of great features. Here are five fantastic BoB features:

#1 - BoB is incredibly easy to set up. You just plug it in and it automatically configures itself with your iinet broadband account and settings. All you need to do is plug the power cord into the wall and the phone cable into the wall socket. BoB works just fine on Apple Mac too.

#2 - BoB has 4 ethernet ports and has excellent wireless range, in fact up to twice the range of standard 802.11g wireless modems and also faster wireless data transmissions at 300Mbps.

#3 - BoB has two high speed USB ports. One of the ports is labelled “storage/3G” and has several impressive features. Firstly you can plug in a USB hard drive or flash drive into BoB and all files will be shared throughout your wireless network. Secondly you can plug in a 3G USB modem (dongle) so you can share your wireless broadband connection between multiple devices if you need to. There will be a future firmware upgrade to enable this technology.

#4 - The second USB port is labelled “charge” and you can charge your mobile phones, portable music players or anything that charges through a USB cable.

#5 - BoB looks great! This might not be the most important feature, but it’s a good one nonetheless. Most wireless modems which are used for Naked DSL VoIP have an antenna sticking out the top of them. The phone handsets don’t match the modem colour and overall it can be a pretty ugly mess.  BoB on the other hand has a great, slick design with no external antenna and the handset matches just beautifully.

Visit the iinet Website >>

iinet Plans for BoB

BoB is made especially for Naked DSL – which is fast ADSL2+ broadband without having to pay line rental every month! iinet Naked DSL includes a free VoIP account with unlimited calls to landlines in Australia. With iinet you can also transfer your Telstra landline phone number to VoIP.

BoB is a VoIP modem and integrates perfectly with iinet VoIP so you can make phone calls with a BoB handset or your own handset. The iinet Naked DSL plans start at $49.95 per month.

See the iinet Naked DSL Plans >>

You don’t have to get a BoB modem to get iinet’s Naked DSL service. Other ADSL2+ VoIP modem brands like Billion, Open Networks, Netgear and Netcomm will work fine with iinet. But they will require some configuration at the time of set up. On the other hand BoB comes pre-configured and is extremely easy to set up.

If for some reason you don’t want to go Naked, you can use BoB with ADSL2+ if you like and retain your landline phone service.

See the iinet ADSL2+ Plans >>

Other Features

If you already have your own phone handsets then they will likely be compatible with BoB. If you buy a handset with BoB, then it comes with the charging unit inbuilt.

You also don’t have to use BoB with VoIP. You can use your standard PSTN phone line if you would like. But if you use iinet ADSL2+ with VoIP, then BoB will make calls by default using VoIP and will revert to PSTN if your internet connection drops out.

If you get iinet Naked DSL, which comes with a free VoIP account and unlimited local and national calls, BoB will work just fine as your all in one modem, wireless router and VoIP handset base.

The iinet BoB modem is also NOT locked to iinet, so you can easily change the settings and use it with another ISP if you want to.

Click Here For More Details on the iinet Website>>

BoB Pricing

So how much does BoB cost? BoB is made by Belkin, the high quality modem and router supplier, so it’s not budget equipment. BoB is a highly featured device that will offer you far more than a standard 4 port wireless router. If you want a handset, then it’s $269 on a 24 month plan. Without a handset it’s $209. Additional handsets are $69 each.

If you are after the cheapest modem possible, then BoB isn’t for you. Simply sign up with iinet and select the BYO modem option and get a modem from elsewhere. But if you are after a well-featured, smart looking modem that is extremely easy to set up, then BoB is a great choice.

Click here for all BoB pricing options>>

iinet Fair Contract Guarantee

We like the iinet Fair Contract Guarantee, which makes the 24 month plan a really fair deal. If you need to leave your contract before 24 months, you aren’t unfairly penalised. There are no early termination fees – you simply pay back the bonuses you received at sign up.

Visit the iinet Website >>

So you’ve heard of BoB? He’s pretty popular at the moment! iinet has given the boring old modem some personality and it’s generating a lot of interest. So what does BoB stand for?

BoB = Broadband in a Box

I’m not sure where the ‘o’ fits it, but a modem called BiaB or BiB doesn’t have quite the same ring to it. BoB seems like a good name for a modem

So while BoB might be a good name for a modem, is he actually a good modem? Read our full iinet BoB Review to see what we think!

If you’re interested in iinet BoB pricing, click here to see it on the iinet website.

Getting a Free or Discounted Modem With Naked DSL

We all know that nothing really comes for free. If you get a free mobile phone, you know you are stuck in a contract for a couple of years and probably paying rates higher than what you need to.  With braodband and Naked DSL there are few providers offering free modems – but many offer good discounts. If a modem is free, it is usually pretty basic and so you may be better off simply buying the modem you really want.

Here is a summary of what modems the Naked DSL providers are offering.

iinet supplies Belkin modems ranging from a 1 port for $109 up to a 4 port wireless for $279. If you go on a 24 month plan with iinet you are given up to $80 off the price of your modem. They have three modems with differing specifications.

Click Here to See iinet Modems and Routers

Internode offers Billion modems starting at $99. Their recommended modem is the Billion 7401VGP-R3 for $199, which is a 4 port wireless modem with Annex M. They don’t offer free modems, but do have a 24 month Fast Replacement Warranty.

Click Here to See Internode Plans and Modems

TPG offers two brands of modem – Dynalink 1 port for $69.95 and Dynalink RTA1025W 4 port wireless for $149.95. They also offer the NetComm NB6Plus4 –  a 4 port without wireless for $99.95. TPG doesn’t offer any free modems.

Click Here to See TPG Naked DSL Plans and Modems

Optus is one of the companies that offers a free modem if you bundle your mobile with them and commit to a 24 month plan. The $99.99 per month plan includes a free wireless (Wi Fi) modem, but the lower plans are just basic modems.

Click Here to See Optus Plans and Modem Descriptions

Exetel provides a range of modems from Dynalink and NetComm from $60 to $175. Exetel doesn’t provide a free modem, but their prices are very competitive. You can dowload a specifications sheet for each modem on the sign up page.

Click Here to See Exetel Modem Prices and Specifications

Dodo offers two NetComm modem models – the NB7 for $49.95 or the NB7Plus4W for $99.95. The latter is the 4 port wireless modem. They aren’t free but are at a significantly discounted price for Dodo customers. Shipping of modems is $24.95 which is higher than most ISPs.

Click Here to Register Your Interest in Dodo Naked DSL

Netspace supplies Netgear modems, including the basic DM111P ADSL2+ modem for free on a 24 month plan. Netspace has a great system where the longer your contract is, the bigger the discount you get off the modem. So on a 24 month plan you can get the Netgear DG834G 4 port wireless for only $100.

Click Here to See Netspace Modems