LinuxSA Mailing list archives

  From: Mark Newton <newton@atdot.dotat.org>
  To  : Nigel Moore <nigel@nlc.net.au>
  Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 23:56:38 +0930

Re: Telstra Broadband & Multi-Users

On Thu, Jun 28, 2001 at 10:18:21PM +1000, Nigel Moore wrote:

 > > If that says you can get ADSL, you can actually get it through any
 > > provider, not just Telstra.
 > 
 > As you say here, you can get it through any provider, does this mean someone
 > such as Internode, or any other ISP can offer ADSL in areas where they have
 > no POP or dial in presence.

Ah, ok - I need to clarify, or limit, what I said.

Firstly, I work for Internode.  Fair warning.

ISPs who use Telstra's wholesale ADSL offering purchase access in 
geographical regions.

So what I should have said was, "If that says you can get ADSL, you can 
actually get it through any provider who is servicing your geographical
region, not just Telstra."  Apologies for the lack of specicifity, I was
lulled by the fact that most of the active participants on this list are
in the Adelaide metro area.

The regions are pretty large - Metropolitan Adelaide is one, for example.

The kicker for ISPs (and, by implication, for end-users), is that the 
amount of up-front cash burn required in order to gain access to a region
is larger than the amount of money which could conceivably be made from
that region in most country areas;  The *minimum* amount an ISP needs to
pay to get access to a region is a five figure sum where the first figure is
greater than 5, and that's only for 2 Mbits/sec in to the DSLAM network,
and doesn't include the cap-ex for the equipment needed to terminate
the link.

If you can find enough customers in a low-density population area to 
make enough money by selling ADSL to come up with that kind of cash every
year, you're welcome to start an ISP :-)  But in the meantime, that explains
why if you're living in, say, Mount Gambier, Telstra is the only player
in town for ADSL.  We'd love it if it wasn't like that, but it is, and
until the industry's many and varied attempts to change it bear fruit we
just have to live with it.

 > I have no knowledge on the server side of ADSL
 > at all at the moment, and am considering it for our office up on the Central
 > Coast of NSW (about an hour above Sydney). I have checked with Telstra and
 > the line I would like to enable it on is ADSL capable, but I can't find any
 > provider willing to offer it apart from Telstra in our area.

Ok, so you're an example of what I've described above.

ISPs generally believe that the manner in which Telstra is wholesaling
ADSL is anti-competitive.  There are various attempts to get the status-quo
changed.  If any of those reach a happy conclusion you'll no doubt find
that lots of new options open up for you, but until then you're in the
unfortunate position of being forced to use the monopoly phone provider,
while the Government pretends we have a competitive telecommunications
industry.

    - mark

--------------------------------------------------------------------
I tried an internal modem,                    newton@atdot.dotat.org
     but it hurt when I walked.                          Mark Newton
----- Voice: +61-4-1620-2223 ------------- Fax: +61-8-82231777 -----

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