I was approached by a Telecom door knocker with a fantastic deal for Broadband and Phoneline, so I rang TelstraClear to see what deals they could offer to match.

Telecom deal: Total home broadband 120GBp/m with $10 credit for 12 months and first 2 months free + phoneline + free WiFI modem on VDSL2 (rang telecom and confirmed all the details such as if I could get VDSL2 on my exchange, etc.)

I spoke to a retention rep at TelstraClear who advised me that he could upgrade my account from 40 to 100GB for an extra $20 per month more than I'm currently paying, which would be a discount of $30 off the "normal" price of that "Warpspeed" plan for 12 months.

Since cable has been so reliable for me, I'm hesitant to give it up and go back to DSL, so I opted for this deal given by Telstra.

I rang back and was told I'd get a phone call in a few minutes from the retention rep. He calls me back straight away (yay!) and I advise I'd like to take him up on the offer. He then advises that there is a 12 month contract for this discount, and if I change plans within that 12 months I'd be charged $199 early termination fee. On top of that, it would be a "Warpspeed" plan, but because they have no modems left I'd not be able to get the 100mb speed that is advertised...

So if I stayed with Telstra I'd be locked into a contract for 12 months for a 100GB internet plan that would cost me $20 more than I'm paying already for the same speed, and if I decide to change it in the first 12 months I'd be stung $199.

If I go with Telecom I get 120GB a month + phone line for $95 p/m, on a 12 month contract, that includes a free WiFi modem + 2 months free. Also, as I understand it, Telecom will not charge me a $199 fee for changing my plan (correct me if I'm wrong here guys)

Has anyone else had any luck with TelstraClear and their retention team? It's not a bad offer, but the fact that the rep omitted the "contract" and "termination fee" RIGHT BEFORE he was about to sign me up was a deal-breaker.

Can anyone comment on Telecom VDSL2 vs cable 15mb for things like YouTube and gaming (steam)? I'm not sure how far I am from the exchange - is there somewhere online I can look this up? What sort of speeds can I expect (I know this is a "how long is a piece of string" question), will VDSL2 be faster than my 15mb cable connection, or the same/less? If anyone has gone from TelstraClear cable to Telecom VDSL2 I'd love to hear your experiences.

Also, if anyone from TelstraClear is reading this you really need to work on your retention skills! Locking a 10 year+ customer into a 12 month contract without providing the full service or plan details up front is not really a good look IMO. I'd be happy to upgrade for 12 months and pay a bit extra - but NOT locked in with a $199 break fee for changing my plan a few months down the track.

Ironically, this is the best customer service I've had from TelstraClear in the whole time I've been with them, it's a shame I have to (almost) leave them to get this sort of service!