[LINK] Coonan's statement -- correct or not?

[Adam Todd]

At 05:12 PM 20/10/2007, Jan Whitaker wrote:

>http://www.theage.com.au/news/federalelection2007/australia-in-digital-dark-age/2007/10/20/1192301086691.html
>
>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.
>
>-=-=
>The bit I don't believe is that they 'licence' internet carriers. 
>Huh? Does the government licence ANY internet carriers?

Correct.  There are no "licenced Internet Carriers".  ISPs do not 
require licencing of any kind.  However they are required to 
contravene Corporations law and are forced to join a Limited company.

>How does one set up an ISP?

Buy ports from another ISP or set up your own.

>  Aren't many of the 167 resellers?

Oh I'm sure they all sell each other stuff.  Telstra doesn't have 
"all" coverage and buys services from anyone, it of course sells any 
service back for double the price.

There are about 167 Telecommunications Carriers.  These are licenced 
and carry voice and data from one third party to the next.  An ISP 
doesn't carry data, just facilitates the movement as ISPs don't own 
or run the carriage (cable, wireless etc)

If an ISP is offering, setting up and providing Wireless access then 
they will require a carrier licence.


>I don't understand the business, but this statement from Coonan 
>didn't sound right.

It's not, you are correct.

Oh and the "more than Three" comment is wrong too.  Originally there 
was Telstra (aka Telecom) and Optus.  AAPT wasn't a carrier until the 
mid 1990's maybe even 1997 when the laws changed for the [insert 
confusion number here] time.

Maybe if you consider OTC as a carrier, that makes three, but OTC was 
really Telstra in the end.

AAPT was probably one of the first 5 to hold a carrier licence once 
it was opened up a bit.