Broadbanditry

The outcomes of Botsman v Telstra Corporation Ltd which finished in Nowra's "small people's court" - The Consumer Traders and Tenancy Tribunal - today!

Unless some basic access issues change forget any prospect of a modern Australian broadband network for regional users. As it stands, Australia’s "Broadband Guarantee" only guarantees that thousands of consumers pay exorbitant prices for access to inefficient and unreliable broadband services when compared not to Japan or Sweden or North America, but to their neighbours. Once you wade through the complexity of plans and service providers the reality is that in Australia if you live 7.1 kilometres from an ADSL enabled telecommunications exchange you may pay up to 100 times the cost of broadband of a neighbour 100 metres closer to that exchange. Not only that, you will be doomed to unreliable and markedly slower service from a wireless or satellite system. Telstra dominates the so-called node to exchange cable network. It will not install the simple technology that for as little as $5000 could boost an ADSL signal from 7 kilometres to up to 20 kilometres from exchanges, thereby bringing real broadband at competitive prices to most Australians. And here’s the rub, Telstra have trialled and tested the technology that could deliver these services, have purchased hundreds of ADSL boosters and then cancelled promised contracts with the Australian company that manufactured them! Why is Telstra holding out? Its complex but in a nutshell it is Sol Trujillo protecting Telstra shareholder interests against the interests of the nation. After taking Telstra to court I know there is a way of resolving the stand-off and it doesn’t involve billions of dollars of taxpayers funds. But are there any politicians or regulators or telco heads really listening and do any of them really understand what is happening to those who live outside the cappucino belt of our cities and towns?

If you cannot afford to purchase this paper, but are doing battle with Telstra or trying to improve Australia's broadband telecommunications system write to the author for a free copy: pbotsman@bigpond.com

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