The time is now here for customers of iiNet (and other TPG Telecom group entities) to either start paying for e-mail services from the Messaging Company or find alternative e-mail service providers. Ray Shaw at CyberShack wrote about this divestment of e-mail services and a useful guide to setting up your own e-mail domain in August last year.
For those who have chosen to fall back to readily-available mainstream services (such as Gmail or iCloud Mail), or who have been comfortable navigating the market to establish a customised solution (as I did), the pressure is off. For everyone else, an outlay of $30 for one year’s extension of e-mail services by the Messaging Company is probably reasonable, unless there is more than one e-mail address to maintain.
Secure, reliable e-mail is essential for many personal activities these days, and absolutely necessary for business activities. Whichever route you go, do your homework, compare the costs, and consider the reputation of the company (or companies) you end up utilising. After several months as a customer, I am happy to recommend DreamIT Host for consideration.