Note: This column represents the opinions
of the writer and as such, is not purported as fact
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Telecom has stated that they intend to significantly increase
the uptake of DSL services in New Zealand by dropping prices.
Chances are it will be done through a reduced "entry" price for its
JetStream product -- but will it address the real bitch that most users have?
I refer of course to the data cap and per megabyte charges for data
over that cap.
Telecom will, no doubt, tell us that it's simply not economically viable for
them to offer a flat-rate uncapped DSL service and it would be tempting
to believe them wouldn't it?
The Aardvark PC-Based Digital
Entertainment Centre Project
Yes, at last, this feature
has been updated again! (31 Mar 2003)
But could it be that this claim is simply a way of allowing the company
to unfairly squeeze unreasonable profit levels out of its monopoly on
the local loop?
Well IHUG's introduction of
flat-rate uncapped DSL
in Australia would seem to provide proof that this may indeed be the case.
Is this the same Australia that has, for as long as I can remember, been
a rather expensive place to use the Net?
Long after most of New Zealand's ISPs had switched to flat-rate for dial-up connections,
many Aussie ISPs were still billing by the minute and doing so at a hefty rate. So
how come they get flat-rate uncapped DSL at a time when Kiwi DSL users
are seeing caps applied left, right and centre?
Well the *big* difference is that over the ditch, Telstra has been forced to
release its monopoly grip on the local loop.
This forced unbundling has allowed other broadband providers to enter the market
and compete head-on. Now Aussies are reaping the rewards of that competition in the
form of great deals on broadband.
Meanwhile, NZ's DSL users still face the prospect of potentially huge bills
if they run over their data allowance or (even worse) if someone decides
to launch a denial of service attack against them. There are plenty of
reports of Telecom DSL users who have found themselves facing bills of thousands
for IP packets they didn't request but which someone sent them anyway.
And maybe, instead of
wasting more taxpayers' money
propping up Telecom's profits and monopoly, the government ought to get their fingers
out in respect to the unbundling of our local loop so that true DSL competition
can begin.
It strikes me that if we're going to make any impact in the global knowledge
economy, we have to be able to compensate for our geographic remoteness from
key markets by making the cost of broadband Internet affordable and predictable.
Right now, Telecom's offerings are neither.
Even the JetStream Starter (JetStart) package 128Kbps has been capped by
most ISPs because Telecom's price structure makes it uneconomic to
do otherwise -- and that's not even a real broadband service!
Perhaps, in the wake of the NewZealand.com fiasco, it's time for the government
to redeem itself and show that it really does have taxpayer's
(rather than Telecom's) best interests
in mind by making sure that there's enough competition
in the DSL market for us to have an $80/month flat-rate UNCAPPED service
at true broadband speeds.
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