OPINION: If you are a developer and you thinking of signing Freedom Internet, as your broadband provider, you may want to think twice about which Internet Service Provider you go with because their service is terrible and their support staff who are based in the Philippines, clueless.
For the second time in six months, I have tried to log into the Freedom Internet network while staying at the Ultiqa Signature apartments in Broadbeach Queensland, and on both occasions, I was unable to get a connection despite the password being right.
First up there is supposed to be two networks 2G and 5G available to connect to.
I could only see the 5G network and despite multiple attempts to connect I was unable to log into their network.
Calling their support Centre was farcical.
After giving the support operator who was based in the Philippines my room number and Wi Fi network address, he told me the password was wrong.
Great, so I entered the new password three times only to discover that he had given me the password for another room in the apartment.
He then asked me to reboot the router, which I found in a wardrobe.
He told me it was a Huawei router which is a Company banned by the Australian Government from providing network gear for Australian 5G networks.
But because it’s cheap, a lot of carriers who appear not to care about the potential risks associated, with using technology from a Company whose products are banned in Australia, USA, and the UK.
The only problem is that when I was able to remove the cover housing the router, I found it was from a US Company called Adtran.
He claims that he had never heard of the brand.
I was then asked to send support pictures of the Adtran router to him in the Philippines.
Despite 20 minutes or more on the phone I was told he was not in a position to reboot the router from the Philippines, this is a capability that Optus, Telstra and Aussie Broadband are able to do.
As a result, he was unable to help me, and I was left without any broadband in my room, with no indication of when the problem would be fixed.
He then asked me to reboot the router.
He told me it was a Huawei router which is a Company banned by the Australian Government from providing network gear for Australian 5G networks.
But because it’s cheap, a lot of carriers who appear not to care about the potential risks associated, with using technology from a Company whose products are banned in Australia, USA, and the UK.
The only problem is that when I was able to remove the cover housing the router, I found it was from a US Company called Adtran, this was not the router for the broadband network.
Several hours later and facing no Internet I actually found the Freedom Internet Router, yes it was Chinese. It hidden behind a TV in a black case so that no one could access it.
The Freedom Internet support assistant did not have a clue where the router was located.
I was asked to send support pictures of the Adtran router to him in the Philippines.
Despite 20 minutes or more on the phone I was told he was not in a position to reboot the router from the Philippines, this is a capability that Optus, Telstra and Aussie Broadband are able to do.
As a result, he was unable to help me, and I was left without any broadband in my room, with no indication of when the problem would be fixed.
A visit to the front desk resulted in another spin, on the reason why the Freedom Network was unavailable.
“Because of the weather the towers are affected” a representative said.
“Several rooms are down” she added.
Really the service to the premises is fibre and does not need a 4G or 5G network.
This is not the first time I have had problems with this provider during a visit to the Gold Coast.
Finally after finding their router hidden behind a TV with a black box surrounding it to stop people access it, I was able to access it and reset it, and finally I got an Internet connection all 2.29Mb.
In the end I had to use my mobile phone to get access to an acceptable speed.
