ADSL wins favour in Aust connectivity race - News - Business

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This story was printed from ZDNet Australia.
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ADSL wins favour in Aust connectivity race

By Jeanne-Vida Douglas, ZDNet Australia
April 10, 2002
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/business/soa/ADSL-wins-favour-in-Aust-connectivity-race/0,139023166,120264509,00.htm

With a current user base of around 193 000, set to grow to around 3.5 million by 2006, the broadband market in Australia appears to finally be climbing out of Telstra's wholesale pricing debacle which has stymied growth in recent years.

However, far from envisioning the highly connected home life, oft portrayed by broadband marketeers, indications are that most of this growth will be focussed on business rather than domestic markets.

Emilia Wasiak, communications analyst with International Data Corporation (IDC), believes this process will also be marked by a shift in technologies.

-The vast majority of new connections will be ADSL based rather than cable," Wasiak said. -At this stage there are five broadband service providers offering cable modem connectivity, and 80 in the ADSL market--so we are going to see a much more competitive market evolve."

Based on research IDC is conducting in this area, Wasiak predicts the plethora of ADSL broadband service providers will continue to focus on niche sectors of the business market. -At this stage most of these companies just provide services to business, while there are a few in the residential space," Wasiak said.

While she describes price as the biggest driver in the broadband market, Wasiak believes applications will play an increasingly important role when it comes to drawing in new customers.

-Hopefully we are seeing the wholesale pricing dispute resolved," Wasiak said. "With Telstra currently controlling 97 percent of the market, it would be good for the market to see more competition."