With over a third of Australian homes connected to the Internet, and millions more accessing the Web via work connections, the relative performance of different ISPs is now a regular topic of conversation even in non-techie circles. ZDNet Australia reports on the state of play in the local ISP industry and evaluates the major players' offerings.
In industry circles
With the collapse of One.Tel and its associated ISP One.Net, many end users were left wondering about the long-term viability of their own connections.
In recent times a wave of consolidation has seen many of the smaller regional players disappear, or be swallowed by mid size and larger players.
And while it would seem that small niche ISPs are in dire straights, Kim Davis, managing director of Cynosure and compiler of the Australian ISP List, has been surprised by the resilience of the small end players.
"A lot have been disappearing, but they are being replaced just as quickly," Davis said. "Many are being bought by the larger players."
And before you go racing off to switch to one of the big six, bear in mind that as far as the end users are concerned, much of the consolidation has gone on virtually unnoticed. This is because the larger ISPs are careful not to scare away their newly acquired customers by changing the look and feel of their connection.
Speaking from the coalface is Ken Kirkby, managing director of regional ISP Nobby's Net, who describes a market where the smaller players are gradually becoming franchisees to their larger counterparts.
"People still need access to the support services and the friendly face that smaller local ISPs can provide, but the businesses have been forced to become virtual ISPs, reselling services from other providers," Kirkby said.
Meanwhile, many of the larger players are focussing their energies on extra customer services. According to International Data Corporation's (IDC) senior ISP analyst, Lisa Shishido, end users can expect to continue to be pampered with content aggregation, personalisation and shopping services.
"ISPs are definitely trying to improve their services and attempting to maximise their revenue from each subscriber," Shishido said. "All of the larger players are looking for chances to bundle their services, as well as opportunities to up-sell and cross-sell other products."
So don't be surprised if your ISP begins to offer attractive contract upgrades, including bundling your Internet connection with mobile phone services, or long distance telephone calls.
At the same time, the market seems to be moving towards increased service offerings, rather than decreased price to attract and keep Internet users.
Justin Milne, CEO of OzEmail, believes Australian Internet usage has matured to the point where many customers know what they are looking for in terms of service.
"There will always be a section of the user base that is after the cheapest rate," Milne said. "But these days we are seeing a flight to quality and superior services as people become more reliant on their Internet connection."
Similarly Dennis Muscat, general manager of Pacific Internet, said the company is not participating in a "race to the bottom" price war, rather it is focussing on the quality of the product and the requirements of its user base.
"We will try not to follow the major players down to the lowest price," Muscat said. "We are working on our customer support."
I'm a keen Internet user, but with internet access becoming more popular, I'm interested in the ramifications. What do different age groups use it for? How has it affected their other interests? How has it affected the way we see the world and process information?
I'm concerned that we're bombarded with more and more information. It makes it difficult to keep your perspective and consider the context and importance of that information, e.g. in this article, it's noted that some ISPs are offering unlimited monthly packages. The temptation is to spend as much time online as possible to get the best value. Are we socialising less because of this? Are we reading fewer books in order to keep up with the stream of information online?