[LINK] Australia Gets Broadband – A Slow Connection For A High Price

[Janet Hawtin]

http://www.newswiretoday.com/news/20920/
There is rapid broadband penetration in Australia despite Telstra and
the Government not coming to an agreement over key issues.
By mid-2007 there were close to 4.5 million subscribers in the country.

In residential markets there has been 64 % penetration while in the
business market this figure goes up to 80 % . While there has been a
quantitative rise in the number of broadband users, the quality of
connections, and the price that customers have to pay have been areas
of concern.

The majority of customers are still on services that provide only
256Kb/s or 512Kb/s. Telstra, however, does make an 8Mb/s available,
but this is not a guaranteed speed, only a best-effort service. There
is a perceived need for the government to set up a right regulatory
environment so that an infrastructure can be set up to provide people
with optimum broadband connections.