OPINION: In 1996, Tom Kennedy and Peter Higgs of AIMIA's national board began tossing around an idea: to reduce the cost of bandwidth for media companies.
Australians were paying much more for their connectivity than their competitors elsewhere in the world, and the options for companies wanting broadband links were very expensive and very limited.
Elsewhere in the world companies such as Sohonet were successfully providing media companies with high bandwidth connectivity, but Australians had few options to reduce their costs or increase their capacity to communicate.
AIMIA's idea gained momentum. Some initial research piqued the interest of media companies and film organisations such as the Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA).
Contact was made with many telcos, and then...nothing. In 1998 the deregulation of telecommunications hadn't yet made many inroads into niche markets, and telecommunications companies were more interested in filling the needs of media companies with existing products than in trying to develop new, innovative solutions.
As one telco representative said to me at the time, "We get a fantastic return on investment from the financial sector, and we're too busy expanding our offerings there to bother with new products for smaller groups".
Eventually the research was refined into a report for the Federal Government by a group headed by Rod Bishop from the Australian Film, Television, and Radio School.
Representatives from industry made an elaborate presentation including examples of effects for movies such as The Matrix, and the government was impressed by the argument that increased bandwidth equalled improved export performance. Senator Alston appointed a working group, and this group of people formed a company to make a bid for government assistance. That company is called FIBRE. Last year the Federal Government awarded FIBRE a small contract to prove the business case for networking media companies.
One of the bugbears of film companies and interactive media developers is that all the wonderful experimental technology in the world won't help you land clients, because clients demand delivery on time, on budget, and using reliable systems. Clients know the phrase "bleeding edge" and it makes them queasy.
Industry leaders demand reliability, which meant FIBRE needed to focus on solutions from commercial telecommunications providers. FIBRE recently conducted a call for submissions from telecommunications companies, to aggregate demand and help drive down the overall costs.
As anyone who has ever tried to compare mobile phone plans can attest, every telecommunications company does business differently, and this is just as true with broadband pricing and access.
As a result, it has taken some time to find a solution that will suit the broad needs of the industry. Although some companies have a need for 100Mbps connectivity and beyond, the vast bulk of the industry needs solutions such as 2Mbps ADSL at more affordable prices-and they need it now.
Things have changed since 1998. There is now a significant number of smaller telecommunications companies, offering much more innovative solutions, and they see the chance to capture a share of a market that has an insatiable demand for bandwidth. Many high-end design companies have data flows exceeding 50Gb/month, and as data pricing falls this will only increase.
FIBRE expects to announce its preferred telecommunications partner within a matter of weeks. Broadband in Australia is still expensive relative to many other countries, but by amalgamating demand from a range of small media players FIBRE plans to offer the film, television, and interactive media industry a way to make itself internationally and locally competitive.
By enabling increased access to export markets through increased connectivity, FIBRE hopes to broaden the field Australian companies compete in.
Rachel Dixon is a founding board member of FIBRE, is currently on the national board of AIMIA, and also has board positions with several other media companies. Her consultancy, Handshake Media, advises technology companies on the media industries, and is also active in film production. The Australian Interactive Multimedia Industry Association (AIMIA) is a professional association for creators and developers of digital content. AIMIA can be contacted on 02 9252 4938 or at director@aimia.com.au.
why is broadband so expensive in AUSTRALIA compared with the rest of the world.
Is it because greed is the main criteior here and not for the benefit of the people.
Good band width and much cheaper pricing will be totaly beneficial to ALL, every one will be connected to it.
Where is the government in all of this is it hiding as usual, no where to be seen when tough talk is required to bring these people into line.