Reading more on the Now We Are Talking, I was thinking, what’s more important to this nation, the businesses (and monopolies) that thrive off it, and the people that live in it?
Fast Pr0n
Affordable Internet Access
Return on Investment
Well, let’s think for a moment.
Fast Pr0n: While this might speed up the time spent waiting for the download, will it ultimately result in solving the bigger issues that are hard hitting the nation, or will it just allow those who have nothing better to do with overpriced internet access to simply use it better?
The likely is, we don’t need THAT fast just yet. And won’t for sometime. We need roughly 10Mbits per user, roughly, to get the best out of most the internet has to offer, with a minimum of 512kbps (more like 1Mbit) upstream for the return data of those applications (and not so much the Fast Pr0n).
Affordable Internet Access: This seems to be the ultimate goal of the entire industry, except Telstra. The goal of a lot of consumers, and the rest of the industry is to bring quality, affordable internet access, at speeds that are “fair” and “metro-comparable” to the rest of the nation. That sounds pretty reasonable, they want Australians to use the internet as a tool for their education, as a tool for their entertainment, as a tool for various parts of the Aussie lifestyle. Smart thinking..? Definitely. Faster services, more value, at “affordable” prices.
Return on investment: The only ones pushing this line hard is Telstra. Why are they? A return on invesment doesn’t get them customers at the prices they propose which are ridiculously high. Return on investment doesn’t get australians using broadband services as a tool for education. It doesn’t get them using it as a tool for their entertainment, it doesn’t get them using it.. at all.
If it’s too expensive, as in, meets “return on investment”, it will be quickly discovered that there won’t be anyone willing to give them any return on investment. I sure as heck won’t be paying wholesale $59 for a phone and a broadband service that RUNS 3 times slower, than I currently get.
Return on investment isn’t something that should be ignored however, that’s the key thing here. It’s important we don’t spend money and make a loss on it like Telstra do and plan to do with their slapped together FTTN proposal. Did they ever think about the CURRENT pricing? Did they ever think that new technology PUSHES prices down? Don’t believe me? Well, ask PIPE Networks, Telstra’s next threat, who will suck the life out of them using their own backhaul. Ask iiNet and Internode who have delivered services that are priced much less than Telstra do them for.
Here’s something, for the wholesale price of my service, you can get double the data, and .. well, 24 times the speed down, and 8 times or more faster upload for the same price (retail).
So, that says a lot about Telstra’s pricing, doesn’t it? Wholesale customers on Telstra’s network are paying retail level prices for other competitor networks.
That’s all well and good, because as the market shapes up, we should see them keen to invest in further areas and expand the networks they have to more, and gain market share on pure price competition.
Hey, Telstra, ever watch My Name Is Earl? Well, perhaps its time you made your own list of bad things you’ve done to the Australian Consumer and the Australian Economy, and the Australian Competition and start making up for them.
Earl tells us that Karma will come to bite you for your wrong doings. Maybe the OPEL rollout is a sign? Karma trying to tell you something?
Heh. It’s a great TV show. For those who want to read more of it, check out the series on IMDb, and the DVDs – Season 1 or Season 2
Enjoy!