OptusNet has revised its warranty policy for cable modems and will now replace modems damaged by power surge or lightning strike.

Fried modems made the news earlier this year when electrical storms along the east coast damaged a large number of Optus cable modems. Optus refused to replace them under warranty, even though the terms and conditions of the service state that the modems cannot be unplugged from the outlet.

A memo sent to OptusNet staff this week revealed that a "considerable proportion" of modems needing replacement are damaged by power surges and lightning strikes.

From July 1, Optus will waive the $179 modem replacement fee for damaged modems still within the 12 month warranty period. If the modem is out of warranty a replacement will cost $80. Naturally, damage caused by the customer will not be covered in either case.

However, Optus continues to require a visit by a technician to replace faulty modems, even if the replacement is not supplied by Optus. This has angered many customers in the past due to the inconvenience of scheduling a time for the technician to visit, and the $99 fee that went along with it. Rival cable provider BigPond does not consider this necessary, and even mailed thousands of replacement modems to customers when it upgraded its network last year.

Other changes for OptusNet Cable customers include a reduction of both the relocation and "change of account holder" fees from $99 to $39.

OptusNet will also launch a new promotion for the month of July, whereby new customers choosing to bundle their phone and/or TV with Optus will receive an extra 2 months free, on top of the existing offer.

Links:

• Optus firm on fried modems  (Whirlpool, 7 Feb 2005)