Amcom Small Business Support


Internet Support

The following are a number of frequently asked questions that should help you better understand your Amcom Small Business Internet service.

Basic Internet Settings

  • Basic Internet Settings

    Mode/Encapsulation: PPPoE LLC
    VPI: 8
    VCI: 35
    Authentication: CHAP
    Username : username@amnet
    Password: as assigned

Understanding Shaping

  • What is the account 'billing' date?

    The billing date is the date on which your billing period commences (this is shown on your invoice and is usually the first day of each month). Both usage and shaping control systems will be aligned with your account billing date.

  • What happens if I reach my plan’s monthly allowance?

    If you reach your monthly plan allowance the speed of your broadband will be shaped (slowed down) to 512kbps (download and upload speed).

    Please note:

    • The monthly usage on your service is calculated based on your billing anniversary. Your billing anniversary refers to when your service is connected, for instance if your billing anniversary is the 1st  of each month your account usage will be reset on the 1st of each month.
    • On your next billing date, shaping will be automatically lifted and your monthly usage reset.
    • We do not shape traffic for certain Amcom Small Business services, such My Account Portal, our website and IP Voice Services.

  • How will I know if I'm nearing my monthly limit?

    We will automatically send you a courtesy email when usage of your account reaches 80% of your monthly download allowance.

  • How will I know if my connection is being shaped?

    When you exceed your download limit, we will automatically send you a courtesy email when shaping is applied to your account.

  • What speed is my connection shaped to?

    512kbps upload and 512kbps download speed.

  • What type of traffic is not shaped?

    All traffic within Amcom’s network. For our customers convenience we do not shape the following services:

    • My Account Portal
    • Our website (amcom.com.au/smallbusiness)
    • IP Voice traffic

    Shaped customers will be able to access or use these services, unshaped, at full speed.

  • How will I know if shaping has been removed/reset?

    We will automatically send you a courtesy email when your internet service speed has been restored to normal.

  • How can I get unshaped if I have reached my monthly limit?

    Please contact our Business Support Team on 1300 266 381 if you are shaped.

  • How does Amcom Small Business monitor & assess my usage?

    Usage is accurately measured on the traffic downloaded, by you, from outside our network (for example international or interstate websites). Traffic on our network, such as traffic from our IP Voice network, is not counted. Plus, we do not count uploads towards your allowance, unlike some of the other providers.

  • Is my unused download allowances carried over to the next month?

    No, your download allowances are not carried over and reset at the commencement of your next billing period.

  • Do you block any ports?

    No. Amcom Small Business does not block any ports.

Understanding ADSL Broadband Speeds

  • What does kbps and mbps mean?

    The acronyms kbps and mbps refer to kilo-bits-per-second and mega-bits-per-second respectively. They describe the data transfer speeds over a network, such as the Internet, calculated by the amount of bits (Binary Digits - the smallest unit of computerised data). In this situation kilo (roughly) refers to a 1,000 and mega refers to 1,000,000; we use the lower case form of the acronym to signify that it is bits-per-second rather than bytes (see What is the difference between bits-per-second and Bytes-per-second? for explanation of the difference).

    Therefore the more bits-per-second the faster the speed.

  • What's the difference between bits-per-second and Bytes-per-second?

    As explained in What does kbps and mbps mean? an ADSL Broadband connection's speed is displayed in bits-per-second, however a file such as a word document is displayed in Bytes. Bytes are different to bits because they are used to measure space where as bits measure speed.

    This is why Bits are signified by a small "b" and Bytes displayed as a capital "B". This leads to some confusion about ADSL Broadband speeds; as often people do not understand why for example a 1.5mbps ADSL Broadband service cannot download a 1.5MB file in a second. In order to help you understand the real speed of your connection try using this simple formula.

    8 mega-bits = 1 Mega-Byte

    To be more exact try this formula:

    (A x 0.1220703125)/1,000,000 = Real Download Speed in KBps or MBps

    A = Download speed in bits-per-second (roughly speaking 1mbps =1,000,000 bits-per-second)

    For example:

    (12mbps x 0.1220703125)/1,000,000 = 1.46 MBps

    or

    (12,000,000 x 0.1220703125)/1,000,000 = 1.46484375 MBps

    Therefore if you have a 12mbps ADSL Broadband connection you could download at 1.46MBps or a 1.46MB file in one second.