IT Service Provider - broadband case study

with TPG's ADSL2+ Broadband - Operating a micro business by Pixel ITT

Greg Martyn speaking on the TPG broadband advantage.

Greg has been providing computer service and support since 1994 first as Pixel Power then as Pixel ITT.
We've been with you in person or on the phone when the internet came alive for you and also when you needed help getting it fixed.

Our onsite and online service areas

As an IT service business we provide computer service, support and equipment to the home office, micro business, small business, or home user market both locally in the St George, Sutherland area in person and Australia wide by Remote PC Control software.

Empathy and experience

We've often experienced a similar position to our customers and we empathise with them in their need to receive genuine affordable, technologically advanced service in their home based offices and homes.

Internet service

As we've been using the internet since about 1996 we have experienced the same annoyances and frustrations as our customers and we really understand what drives them and what their concerns are.

End users needs and waiting for support

End users need help, support, understanding and most of all short service queues. They need readily available info in a non-technical form.
Providing On-Site service to customers I sometimes need to call their internet service provider. If I then have to wait in the ISP's queue for 30 minutes it's both wasteful, frustrating and expensive. Their ISP should be thinking about having more personel on customer support.

Diverse OnLine Support

Today, in 2008, we provide a quick easily affordable remote service to companies as diversified as a cattle station in central Queensland, a small mining related company in Kalgoorlie through to an office secretarial service in Tasmania, all via the power of the internet.
Of course, we still provide On-Site service to our local customers in southern Sydney

No remote support without excellent broadband

Without the internet connected as we are through TPG adsl2+ broadband we simply would not be offering the same diverse service or products to our customers and potential customers.
 

Pixel ITT, a provider and user internet services.

In many ways Pixel ITT, as an IT service provider, would simply not be able to operate without the power of the internet.

The internet as we receive it through our adsl2+ TPG broadband connection allows us access to our suppliers and assist our customers.

Extensive internet user

We use the internet extensively to find support solutions and the necessary programs, drivers and test applications to efficiently provide IT service to our direct and remote customers.

Online payments and balance

Our customers often pay direct thus avoiding the need to post cheques, visit the bank, wait in a line, while we're able to check payments and balances without leaving the office.

Network hardware at Pixel ITT's small business home office

The user friendly, plain English network description

Our network is best described as a cascading, stepped or hierarchical with the top or outside world at the top where the broadband line enters the building, down to the computer, network devices or phone.

• From the street the phone line comes in, combining the voice and broadband signals on one line

• Where the phone line meets a phone or the modem a filter splits the signal to the right device

• ADSL 2+ line connects to the modem

• Modem connects to the Router which has both wireless and wired connections

• Wireless connection from Router connects to authorised, encrypted, access allowed (as against access restricted) devices/adapters for computers, games devices etc

• Wired connections from the Router connect to

  • Main PC

  • FreshTel internet phone device (ATA)

  • Network Switch (to spread) to other switches or PC

• Other Switches and PC's so all network / internet related devices can access the internet or network

  • Network Switches

  • Computers

  • Internet devices

Services we use or provide through our broadband internet connection.

• Pixel ITT's ASAP OnLine remote support for our customers
  This service uses the DualDesk Remote PC Control tool, allowing us to see a customer's PC screen and control it's keyboard and mouse to make changes, repair problems and give quick training and support that may otherwise not be either affordable to our clients or reasonable for us to provide.

  • Examples of this service are the routine installation of license codes on many customers computers

  • Checking settings in a customer friendly manner without the customer needing to follow complicated instructions

  • Repairing computers that have spyware, viruses or other problems.

  • Providing geographically impossible support e.g.. Kalgoorlie or Central Queensland clients thru satellite broadband, or occasional support to clients in the USA (New Jersey) or Canada.

• Email and internet connections

• Website management and loading

• Personal IM (chat) services

• Web 2.0 use

• Freshtel phone service for low cost domestic and international telephone calls

• Experimentation with OnLine applications and collaboration tools

• Bill payment and bank account transactions.

• Internet based support searches, Driver download and application collection and trial software use.

• Online gaming systems

• IPTV (internet television from TPG)

Pixel ITT history of internet use and interest

• 1995, Saturday morning, a caller asking if we had any idea where to get 'Netscape'

• 1996 dial-up connection on one computer in the home business office - no network in existence and no sharing of data - no antivirus software needed, we simply didn't accept disks or files from anyone

• between 1997 and 2001 we gradually created a small peer to peer network and later used Windows 98 ICS to share the internet connection. Often the family would be queuing for the home computer use while I was using the office PC for business use.

• 1998, Moved the office in the home and greatly expanded the local network with the family having a pc each.

• 2001, broadband 1Gb per month on a 256/64 speed

• 2003, increased broadband speed to 512/128 when we changed ISP

• 2007, TPG broadband with an ADSL 1 connection at 8000k/384k speed

• 2007, then upgraded to an ADSL 2+ connection running at speeds upto 20Mb/1Mb

Small note on reporting Spam

Each day pixelitt receive too many spam emails (often between 150 and 250). We report all Spam received to the ACMA using the ACMA Spammatters tool. If you're an Australian Pixelitt encourage you to report your spam to the ACMA as well.
If you're an Australian resident, then report the spam to the ACMA who have responsibility to prosecute spammers in Australia and who cooperate with international organisations to prosecute international spammers.

Pixel ITT use SpamMatters, the ACMA software to forensically package and deliver the spam for their analysis.
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