[LINK] ABC/Telstra deal

[Stewart Fist]

Bob Bain writes:
> In those days Telstra had a monopoly on Telephone calls in Australia
> and to call the United Kindom cost somewhere in the region of over $2
> per minute.

I know this is a side-issue but the juxtaposition of these two ideas is so
common that it deserves comment. It implies that the high cost of
international calls was a direct result of Telstra's monopoly.  

Not true.

In fact, the overseas network was operated by OTC, who were well recognised
around the world at that time as one of the most technically advanced
organisations anywhere (as was Telstra/Telecom at various times).  There were
very few complaints about OTC (as distinct from Telecom) as being
'overstaffed' or overloaded with feather-bedding engineers, managers or
technicians.  It was a reasonably well-run organisation.

The reason why calls cost $2 per minute was due primarily to the technology of
the day.  Nothing has been revolutionised more in terms of
cost/capacity/reliability ratios than undersea optical fibre -- Moore's Law of
microprocessor gains doesn't match what has happened in optical fibre in the
last decade.


-- 
Stewart Fist - writer and columnist
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