[LINK] Your AAP article re Digital

[Jan Whitaker]

Dear News Editor, The Age,

In your article 20 October: Australia in 'digital Dark Age', there is 
a par supposedly attributed to Helen Coonan:

She said Australia is ahead of the US, Canada, United Kingdom, 
Germany, Ireland, Switzerland and many other developed countries.
Internet prices are competitive because the coalition government's 
telecommunications policy has licensed 167 internet carriers, more 
than the three licensed carriers under the previous Labor government, 
she said.

-=-
Unfortunately either your AAP stringer didn't hear her properly and 
misreported what she said, or the former Minister doesn't know what 
she's talking about. "internet carriers" (sic) are not 'licensed'. 
They are required to join the TIO, which is not a licensing agency, 
but a complaints point run by industry for self-regulation. 
Telecommunications carriers, often called common carriers, are 
licensed, as in for voice communications. Internet Service Providers, 
ISPs as they are known, are not carriers. Most ISPs are resellers of 
services across other carriers.

Second, according to the stringer, she mentions that Australia is 
ahead of Canada. In what way? A simple internet search would expose 
that she is incorrect if she said this.

Shaw Cable in Canada offers 5 Mb/s, 60 GB for about AUD $33/month.
<http://www.shaw.ca/en-ca/ProductsServices/Internet/>

Rogers Telecom in Canada offers similar for about AUD $38/month.
<http://www.rogers.com/>

Even Telus (the Telstra of Canada) can do similar for AUD $44/month.
<http://telus.ca/>

These prices are considerably cheaper (about 1/2) of the equivalent
service in Aus.

Additionally, the idea that there should be any comparison between 
the Howard government's open-slather of licensing of common carriers 
and the former Keating government is a ludicrous comparison. As I 
understand it, there were only three licensed carriers because of the 
Telecom monopoly and government ownership. And should there be any 
confusion, the Internet was in its infancy when the Coalition took 
office, so despite the incorrect comment about licensing ISPs, the 
likelihood of multiple ISPs in 1996 is equally ludicrous.

As a member of the public who reads The Age, I respectfully suggest 
that a correction based on proper research be printed in the 
newspaper that clarifies the incorrect statement by the former Minister.

Regards,
Jan Whitaker
Berwick, Victoria

Jan Whitaker
JLWhitaker Associates, Melbourne Victoria
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
business: http://www.janwhitaker.com
personal: http://www.janwhitaker.com/personal/
commentary: http://janwhitaker.com/jansblog/

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Sollisch, Sept, 2007
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