iiNet Managing Director Michael Malone Message from the Managing Director Welcome to the December 2003 edition of iiNews. Last month we were extremely busy with preparations for the AGM and the Open day. I would like to thank all those staff who played a role in organising the day for making it the success it was. Approximately 400 people made their way through the iiNet doors, including one gentleman who travelled up from Albany for the day and a couple who just made it in from Adelaide before the doors closed. I would like to thank everyone who came, even if you didn't travel half way across the country!

Message from the MD News Corner Customer profile Inside the Customer Service Centre Inside the staff room bliinky's game tips Competitions Site scan

In addition to the tours and seminars offered on the day, iiNet showbags were also given out. These contained brochures and leaflets on iiNet's home and business ADSL products, a copy of the iiNet internal newsletter and an Internet safety booklet. To keep everyone entertained the bags also included some 'iiChocolate,' an 'iiPen' and an 'iiTangle.' After receiving heaps of feedback from those of you in the Eastern states and everyone else who could not make it to the Open Day, we have decided to offer the chance to win one of fifty iiNet showbags. Please see the Competitions section of this month's newsletter for more details. Thanks to all those who filled out the feedback forms on the day, as we received some very interesting results about what you liked best! According to those surveyed, your favourite seminar was Dialup versus Broadband, as it was interesting and clear. The NOC was by far the most popular part of the tour, with over half of our respondents choosing this! See our Open Day story for more information and some great pics of the day. So with another Open Day behind us we look forward to the New Year, where we'll be bringing you new and exciting products, whilst maintaining the high standard of customer service you have come to expect from us. I would like to wish a safe and prosperous holiday period to you and your families. Merry Christmas!

iiNet Open Day a Success iiNet held its 3rd annual Open Day on Friday November 28 at our head office in the Durack Centre, right in the heart of Perth. The day started at 12 noon and was filled with seminars on a range of topics including Dial-Up versus Broadband, Online Gaming and iiNet's National Network. Each seminar ran for about 40 minutes and gave all attendees the opportunity to learn a little more about iiNet and its infrastructure. Most seminars were video recorded, and these will be available on the iiNet website soon. The Open Day also gave guests the opportunity to take a tour of iiNet's offices and check out all that goes on behind the scenes, in the customer service centre. Tours included views of Network Services, the Customer Service Managers area and the recently opened Network Operations Centre (NOC). Our staff members enjoyed giving the tours almost as much as you enjoyed going on them, saying that even they had the opportunity to learn things! Nik Lavrakas, a Customer Consultant from Team 7 said, "Customers really enjoyed seeing the NOC and seeing how the Customer Service Centre operates, in terms of how each team handles a certain geographic area. It definitely gave more of a personal touch, with customers having the chance to ask questions face-to-face with support staff." In addition to the survey responses, we also received heaps of positive feedback about the Open Day, including the following from a customer called Lloyd: "I would like to say what a great day the 28th was. After attending five seminars, plus part of a sixth, and going on 2 tours I felt like I was a part of the team. Now when I contact iiNet just to pay my fees I can picture the whole set up and what is going on. I picked up a few good hints on how to contact support to deal with problems, and a few more hints on how to deal with dropouts etc." The winner of the Open Day door prize, was Meg, who walked away with a $100 Myer Gift Voucher. Meg is also the subject of this month's Customer Profile, so you can check out her picture below! Thanks to all attended, as the day would not have been so successful without you. We're looking forward to seeing you all again in 2004! Back to TOP

The crowd attending Open Day The sign-in desk at Open Day

Tier 1 and 2 Rollout This month the Network Services teams from iiNet and ihug have been working on giving our customers a single dialup number for all existing capital city and regional POPs. At the moment the number 019 837 0000 can be used throughout the whole of Western Australia, except Karratha and the Pilbara region. iiNet Engineering Manager Roger Yerramsetti says this number is useful for customers who travel within the state frequently, giving the example of those in the mining industry. By mid December this year the number will also be working in Sydney, Brisbane, Hobart and Melbourne and in all of our existing POPs throughout regional Victoria, NSW, Tasmania and Queensland. The number will also work in Darwin and Adelaide by the end of January, and in Canberra in April. By the end of February there will be another number introduced, which will be used throughout Australia to dialup at the cost of a local call. This number will be available to all iiNet, ihug and Chime customers. Mr Yerramsetti says the number was created for ease of use by customers and to assist iiNet support staff. "The number will especially benefit our customers that travel a lot, because they will be able to do so without having to change their settings or dialup number each time they move location." After the introduction of the new national dialup number in February the old dialup numbers will be phased out completely. Keep an eye out in the next few editions of iiNews, as we will release the national number in January. The 2003 iiNet AGM Last Friday November 28 was also the day of the iiNet Annual General Meeting, which was attended by over 65 customers and shareholders. Company Managing Director Michael Malone gave a presentation at the AGM, where he discussed: iiNet's past and where iiNet has come from Our one to five year Operational Plan The ihug Merger Our three main products Industry Consolidation iiNet's Outlook You can find a copy of Michael's presentation by visiting the ASX, and following the link to company announcements or by clicking here. The AGM presentation was also filmed, and will be available on the iiNet website shortly. At the beginning of his presentation Michael discussed iiNet's past, including the listing on the ASX in 1999 and the introduction of broadband products in late 1999/ early 2000. He also highlighted iiNet's interstate acquisitions, which began in 2000. The huge difference in the share price over the past year was also shown, with shares costing as low as $0.90 in November 2002, whereas they were trading at $3.30 in November 2003. When the ihug Merger was discussed Michael said, "Merging the two companies together was a good product, culture and geographic fit." ihug has a strong voice and phone presence, and iiNet will be testing these products from mid December. The launch of iiNet's new phone product is very exciting, as iiNet will cover 92% of the Australian population once the rollout is completed for phones! During his AGM presentation MD Michael Malone also said, "iiNet's focus will be in owning the infrastructure ourselves." In summing up iiNet's future Michael said the focus would be on integrating iiNet and ihug, capitalizing on telephony opportunities and upgrading our customers to ADSL. While talking about the future of our broadband customers Michael said, "Although the DSL market is competitive, iiNet is growing as it is now the number two provider of broadband. We are catching up to Telstra!" The AGM ended with a few questions from customers and shareholders, including the future of telephony, Telstra making ADSL connections wait, ISDL, half yearly results, spam and iiNet's strategies for avoiding an email crash similar to that experienced by Telstra recently. If you want to know the answer to these questions you will have to watch the video of the presentation! iiNet Reception Closed Just a quick reminder that the iiNet reception will be closed during the public holidays this festive season - December 25, December 26 and January 1. For all other days reception will be open as per normal.

Wait times down Wait times continue to improve in the Customer Service Centre with the implementation of the Regional Teams on Wednesday November 12. Now each team looks after a certain geographical area, which allows us to customise our service style, as there are vast differences between the needs of each area. The Regional Teams mean that support, sales and billing enquiries are streamlined, which has led to massive improvements in wait times. In the last week of November abandoned calls dropped to 7%, which is pretty impressive considering that this number was as high as 30% in August during the virus crisis. Over 50% of calls are now being answered in under ninety seconds, with very few calls waiting longer than four minutes. Nova FM and ZdNet Campaigns On Monday December 1 iiNet launched two new advertising campaigns through Nova Radio in Western Australia and ZD Net. The Nova campaign centers on a series of 30 second radio commercials which are aired throughout the day, discussing the flat rate of our broadband accounts which start from $49.95 per month. If a customer signs up through the Nova promotion, which runs until December 19, they can buy a D-Link DSL-200 modem for only $50, which is a saving of over $100. For a look at the spotter page for the Nova promotion please click here. The ZDNet and GameSpot promotion will run from December 1 to January 31. Anyone who moves from their existing broadband account with another ISP to an iiNet bliink account will have their setup fee waived. Throughout the campaign the ZDNet site will feature banner ads and tower ads about the iiNet special, so check it out for yourself by visiting the ZDNet website at www.zdnet.com.au . iiNet MD Michael Malone said, "We've traditionally grown our business through word of mouth, and about ninety three percent of customers come from referrals. We are excited about the new advertising campaigns as they have the potential to expand our customer base." So if your friends have been looking to signup with iiNet, these two promotions mean there's no better time than now! Starlight Update As many of you may remember from our previous edition, iiNet is working in conjunction with the Starlight Foundation to help grant the wish of a seriously ill child, Jessica. To do this iiNet have committed to raising $4000. In order to raise the funds we are busily planning our private screening at Movies By Burswood, who screen movies and host the occasional concert at Burswood Park most nights throughout summer. The movie has not yet been finalised but a decision will be made in early January between Shrek and Pirates of the Caribbean (stay tuned to the home page for the decision). The movie will start at 8pm on Monday January 12, 2004 and tickets are at the bargain price of $14.00 per double pass, with all proceeds going towards Jessica's Wish. To order tickets please email starlight@iinet.net.au with your username, postal address and how many tickets you would like. We will then charge your iiNet account and post your tickets out to you in early January. It looks set to be a great night, so please bring your family along and enjoy the evening! iiNet also recently announced that iiNet shirts would go on sale for the bargain price of $15, to which the response has been absolutely overwhelming. We are delighted to announce that we're almost half-way to granting Jessica's wish. A HUGE thank you to all who supported this fantastic cause, and special thanks must go to two mystery donors who gave well in excess of the required amount in order to further our fundraising efforts. Pictured below is a family from Lithgow in NSW who all bought iiNet shirts!

This month's tips go out to those who are into real-time strategy gaming - Command & Conquer Generals Use smaller battle groups You can use these small forces either as a defensive "delaying" action while your main force arrives, or as a probing force testing the defences of a base. Scatter the small groups around the map Attack enemy supply lines and base defenses. Keep on the offensive, don't let your opponent have time to build a large army. Money makes the world go around Never ever fall into a position where you have no steady income. Defend your supply docks, and plan ahead. If you are running low on supplies, then ensure you have some secondary income like a Black Market/Group of Hackers or a UN dump. Don't try and win one spectacular battle The chances are if there has been little action lately, then you aren't the only one with a large army. Focus instead on taking out enemy supply lines. If you do find yourself engaged in an all-out battle, rotate your forces. Let damaged units fall back for repairs or medical attention. It is cheaper on your resources to repair/heal a unit than it is to replace it. Back to TOP Tip of the Month Always keep your virus scanner up to date. A good website which has removal tools for the major viruses and worms from the past two years is http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/

To enter iiNet's December competitions simply email: competitions@iinet.net.au and write the name of the prize you wish to win in the subject line, and answer this question: What two iiNet events were held on Friday November 28th? For competition Terms and Conditions click: http://www.iinet.net.au/competition/comptandc.html Set in the fast-paced world of motorcycle racing, this action movie shows what happens to long-time biker (and non-gang member) Cary Ford when he is framed by a long-time rival, Henry (the leader of a biker gang called the Hellions) for the murder of Sleepy D. He happens to be the brother of Trey Wallace (Ice Cube), the leader of the most notorious and feared biker gang in the country - Machine. Cary and his friends must make a run for it as they have both Trey and his Machine bikers and the FBI on their tails. Thanks to Village Roadshow and our friends at Buzz Marketing, we are giving 50 lucky people the chance to win a double pass each to see this fast-paced adventure flick. Thanks to our friends at Cinema Paradiso we are giving away five double passes to Bright Young Things, a great film for the festive season! In the film, our young hero, Adam (Stephen Campbell Moore), needs to get enough money to marry the beautiful Nina (Emily Mortimer). His friends - eccentric, wild, louche and entirely shocking to the older generation, seem one by one to self-destruct, to crash and burn in their endless search for newer and faster sensations. Their world is that of the very young, wild, party-loving creatures new to gramophone records and the telephone - this is a self-consciously modern generation that cannot keep still for a second. They are known to the press, who follow their every move, as the Bright Young Things. Please note: Cinema Paradiso is located in Western Australia. If you are from the Eastern States, or if you simply couldn't make it to the Open Day, here's your chance to win one of fifty showbags that were given out on the day! The showbags contain the immensely popular 'iiChocolate,' an 'iiPen' and an 'iiTangle.' There are also some brochures and leaflets on iiNet's home and business ADSL products, a copy of the iiNet internal newsletter and an Internet safety booklet. You asked for the showbags on Whirlpool, so now we are giving you the opportunity to score one for yourself! Back to TOP