On the eve of the Melbourne Cup, national broadband innovator Internode has completed a technology trifecta by collecting its third major broadband award in six weeks.

Internode won the award for Best Broadband Offering of the Year by an ISP at the Third Annual IT&T (Information Technology & Telecommunications) Awards, presented in Sydney on Thursday (October 28, 2004). The awards are presented by AJB Publishing, the publisher of magazines including PC Authority and Computer Reseller News.

Internode, an Adelaide-based company that has most of its customers located outside SA, is widely recognised for its high quality of service. In mid October, Internode threw down the gauntlet to rivals by launching excess-free, no-contract broadband deals for its Home Broadband customers.

Internode Group General Manager Pat Tapper, who collected the award for the 13-year-old company , said its broadband customer base had more than doubled during the past year.

"This award recognises the overall value offered by Internode’s range of broadband plans," he said. " Our customers love Internode's service, its flexibility and the freedom we give them through our contract-free plans. If customers don't like what we offer, they can vote with their feet, but what's happening is they just keep on coming back to us."

The Best Broadband Offering Award comes hot on the heels of Internode founder and CEO Simon Hackett winning the Bulletin-Microsoft Smart 100 IT & Communications Award at the start of October. This award drew attention to Simon's commitment to delivering the benefits of 21st century broadband technology to Australians living in regional and remote areas.

Two weeks earlier, another company in the Internode Group, Internet age telco Agile Communications, beat Telstra and Optus to collect the Australian Telecom Award as this country's top Broadband / Corporate Wholesale carrier.

Both Internode and Agile Communications are making strong impressions nationally as broadband Internet technologies change the dynamics of the highly competitive communications industry.