Customers of the largest Australian internet providers face a wait of a month or more before they’ll be able to easily connect PCs running Vista up to broadband.
The problem stems from the largest providers’ use of cheap USB broadband modems rather than the marginally more expensive Ethernet ones that don’t require drivers.
The drivers required for the USB modems aren’t yet available from all modem manufacturers.
In fact, Telstra is refusing point-blank at this stage to connect new ADSL or Cable customers if they’re running Vista.
An Optus customer service representative told APC it would not be able to connect Vista users to Optus broadband until 1st March.
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Whirlpool.net.au News Editor Phil Sweeney said it was time for providers to stop using cheap USB modems and spend a couple of dollars more per modem for ethernet models.
“USB modems made more sense in the past when computers didn’t have Ethernet ports built in, but these days they cause more problems with drivers than they’re worth and they’re generally considered to be less reliable,” he said.
He advised broadband users to check if their USB modem had an Ethernet port on the back as well and use that instead. However, he conceded that people might not be able to get much help from Optus or Telstra in configuring the modems, as neither company provides tech support to Vista users yet.
“This happened with Windows 2000 as well, because it was so different from Windows 95/98,” he said.
However, the problem this time round is compounded by the fact that most new computers being sold at retail now have Vista pre-loaded.
