Telstra has just entered into a partnership with Microsoft that will see the nation’s largest telco merge user’s email accounts with Windows Live.
Currently there are 4.2 million BigPond email addresses, which will slowly be migrated across to Hotmail accounts starting in April, according to a report in The Australian.
New customers will be placed straight onto the Windows Live platform, with existing customers given a Hotmail account. People with BigPond email addresses will be able to keep them, though they will be migrated to the Hotmail service.
All customers will be required to change their username and password.
J-B Rousselot, director of media, applications and user experience at Telstra, claimed in a statement that the move was because customers had asked for more from their email service, but only if they could keep their email address.
“New BigPond email customers will receive the Windows Live service, while existing customers will be contacted over the course of the year with instructions on how to being the migration process,” he wrote.
Telstra has set up a special website with information about the migration, which can be found here.
Image: Thinkstock
Why hotmail,, it seems every hotmail account gets targeted for hacking ive already experienced this problem 3 times..and adding i am an older bigpond account -’ im going to be asked to have everything migrated over’.. thats not fare telstra service and bigpond are truly becoming sadder
I hate Windows live. Not happy Telstra. It’s only because I live in the country I use you anyway!
And do you know where your email is stored? Aus or overseas. Is your data protected by local laws. What happens when the pacific link becomes congested or goes down? This is bad for Australia, Bigpond / Telstra arn’t telling everyone the full story.
“People with BigPond email addresses will be able to keep them though they will be migrated to the Hot Mail service.”
” All customers will be required to change their user name and password.”
Please what part of their BigPond emaill address will they be able to keep?
My bigpond email was migrated last week.Prior to migration had no problems with email.3 days after migration my email was blocked by hotmail saying someone had tried to login 10 times therefore blocking my bigpond email address.I can see this happening to a lot of people as Kaiji cox said , hotmail seems to be a major target for hackers.Our emails will never be secure.I have gone to gmail till i work out another option.
Since migration has begun, I had problems with webmail trying to retrieve messages, error codes IM9901 and IM9906, constant warnings of Internet Explorer blocking this website (Bigpond?) displaying content with security certificate errors, and message drafts not saved, or attachments not uploading to new messages to send. When contacted tech support, Telstra Plus called me back wanting payment $197 for technician to check probs any further!! Hey, nothing secure now- I tried to logout and saw I was logged in again, screen flashes and like there is a mirror image of my account?? I run Norton and now seem to have doubled in tracking cookies also. webmail also telling me to open in another browser??(IE9 I use on windows 7) Anybody out there goin through same hell??
Just another reason to close my bigpond and telstra account. I don’t agree with this move. As a user are we given options? NO! We pay good money for a service that has become inferior. I am a disgruntled user. Shall do my walk away like many other customers will be doing. Poor management
No one told me you were changing my email set up and details. I have important ones on archive and am awaiting notification of job applications that have gone to interview.
Why have you done this? Do you not care about the problems and anguish you cause to ordinary people? How do I get my lost and saved emails now? Do you even care?
I am just new to hotmail could you please tell me an easy way to work it.
Thanks
Not inpressed at all with this, J-B Rousselot claims customers want this? I am a customer have been for years my opion was not asked for, I have a contract with Telstra Bigpond because I trusted this Australian company. What new conditions?, what benifits for me? very concerned about security issues and this migration process stated it better be legal , logical and safe for customers.
regards Peter Farmer
O my goodness, what a mess this is, i have lost my Hotmail account and all my contacts, and now i dont seem to be able to use the bigpond one!……what are we paying for?
I have no desire to have my email address changed. I already have a Live Account for the spam rubbish that comes through , I also give that address to people I don’t want to have my Bigpond address, my renewal is up shortly, do I keep my current account which I am extremely happy with as I have been with bigpond longer than I care to remember, or do I bite the bullet and go to dodo for larger download allowance for a cheaper price ????.??
If this is the case I will leave Telstra bigpond all together hotmail is the worst email service in the world and I won’t stand for this, not even being asked shame on you Telstra, what a joke
Nice one Telstra. I had to become a registered user to gain access to a website tonight. No big deal right?. WRONG, they didn’t accept free e-mail accounts as being valid for registration purposes (no hotmail, no aol, no yabloodywho) so I provided them my rarely used but “paid for” BIGPOND e-mail address which was accepted. Guess where the activation code was sent to. What a waste of time. Telstra / Bigpond what is the point of bundling/linking if you can’t provide an e-mail service, even when the service was paid for? Bad enough that offshore call centres, scammers and other (third parties in the business of identity theft ) claiming to be, affiliated with or calling on behalf of Telstra exist. You may well have just provided a bundled package to the identity theft business. It is only a matter of time between customers being the losers and losing your customers. Think about that!
I am 77 years old, I do not like change. I am conformable but challenged already without Telstra changing everything. I do not want Hotmail, I want to stay with Telstra. Isn’t this a step down for Telstra??