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Phil's verbal diarrhoea is a prime example of Telstra arrogance. If Telstra's shareholders cared one iota about their investment they would hold a meeting to sack these Amigo idiots and send them packing.
I don't give a damn what this whinging septic thinks about Australia's democracy. The only thing worse than a yank telling Australians how to run their country is Australia losing to the Poms in an Ashes Test.
An American telling us that our democracy is sick and politicians too powerful...WHAT A JOKE!! Looked in the mirror lately Foghorn Phil?
Maybe our politicians aren't as open to bribes like their American counterparts....although the way Conroy has been acting lately it makes me wonder...
Just got my diff replaced in the ute, but I can still hear a "whine" from somewhere. Oh, of course it is the Anti- Telstra brigade winding up again lead by Paul Sullivan. Why not go to Whingepool and whinge there with the other whingers. Who knows they acually may care & even believe you. Lets hope the good Senator can see through these stalling tactics. Move over as you are holding up progress!!!
I respect Phil Burgess for having a "go". I would take informed opinion any day over Paul Sullivans dribble!!!
So people who don't like Dr Phil are automatically members of the "Anti-Telstra Brigade" are they? Well I suppose I'd rather be a member of this so called club than a racist bigot like foghorn Phil and his cheersquad.
And for your information "Whingepool" just happens to be the largest online forum in this country. It's also completely independant, free from advertising and follows fair moderation practises which I'm sure are all reasons behind its success.
dear James,
Now I have heard it all. The fact that you are defending "Whingepool" with remarks like "completely independant" are ludicrous.
It is right up there with Michael Sainsbury school of bias journalism.
Jon,
James is correct in saying Whirlpool is completely independant. Yes, there are company reps who post comments there, but they do not own or moderate the site. Most of the members are from the community at large, who use the site to voice concerns about many topics, not just telecoms.
In fact, one of the only ISPs to not have an official presence there is Telstra Bigpond. Do they not feel the need to answer to their customers?
Jon,
Do you care to elaborate why you believe Whirlpool not to be independent? Considering it isn't run or sponored by a Telecommunications company, it has no advertising (hence does not make a profit), it does not partake in prejudiced moderation practises, not to mention its significant user base, I find your claim about Whirlpool being biased rather bold.
Jon,
If you believe that Whirlpool is on the take then please provide the evidence to back up your claims. Please also provide your full name and address so Whirlpool's solicitor can explain to you what the word 'libel' means.
I'm not here to defend Whirlpool down to the last drop of blood but if someone alleges bias in the face of a reasonable claim of independence then such allegations should arrive coupled with the appropriate proof.
You should also note that the "anti-telstra" comments here are aimed squarely at Dr Philip Burgess and not specifically at Telstra. Despite the fact that many thing that Telstra does digusts me, I would readily concede that Telstra would not support or endorse Dr Burgess' remarks.
Dr Burgess is a whinging septic and if he does not like Australia, the greatest democratic nation in the history of mankind, then he should hand in his keys and his badge, pack his bags and **** off back to America.
If you believe that this comment or any of the others aimed at Dr Burgess constitutes an anti-Telstra euphemism then your comprehension and command of the English language is sadly lacking. Every time someone here has the gumption to express genuine concerns about Telstra's activities or in this case the activities of their executives or one thereof, people like you and Sydney Lawrence, ZDNet's resident telecommunications mogul, reply with the childish "they are just bashing Telstra" routine and you do it without a meaningful argument to support this nonsense.
So if we who scorn Dr Burgess' diatribe are wrong then please explain what comment Dr Burgess has made today that could be reasonably interpreted as constructive criticism. If you believe that Dr Burgess' comments are justified then please say so so those of us who don't agree can greatly lengthen this page with explanations regarding what is wrong with the US. I, for one, would be here for the rest of the night completing my contributions.
Lord & James are both open about their hatered towards Telstra suddenly defending their bias attitude, the single biggest joke here!
Instead of throwing insults that don't even succeed at being insulting why not make an attempt to type something of substance? Oh that's right you can't!
At least they don't write a massive essay based on an elevated level of self importance while thinking the content is anything but an ego trip. You will never be able to write anything that is accurate or balanced when it comes to Telstra.
At least what I write rarely requires a fact adjustment. Your comments and those of Lord Bell are about as balanced as the Earth's axis.
Looks like you took it all.
Of course they don't need fact adjustments, the concrete has set around your brain and no matter what people say your will never listen unless it suits your warped agenda or elevates your ego.
I know this is off topic, but I just want to bring this to everyone's attention:
1. Read the first comment from 'Jon' on this article.
2. Follow this link:
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,23621486-15306,00.html
3. Go to the comments and look up the comment made from "The Truth" of Canberra, 5:26pm April 30, 2008.
These two comments look very similar, don't they?
Finally lets hope we have a New Government and Minister (Unlike Coonan) who will sit up and take notice to someone like Burgess who has something costructive to say. Well done Dr Phil!!!
Constructive??? Are you kidding? Wake up Jon!
This is just another great example of another loud mouth American telling us Australians our country is screwed because we don't subscribe to their flavour of capitalism.
I just loved the hypocrisy of the health analogy. Americans are always attacking any sort of socially responsible government, such as our PBS scheme that gives all Australians cheap access to medication. They see it as protectionist, even communistic. Go and live in America with a chronic illness for a while. I gaurantee you'll soon be making trips to Canada.
And make no mistake, this is what this is about. If you gave Telstra half a chance, they'd ditch rural Australia in a heartbeat - simply because there is no money in it.
As an Australian, I am not complacent. I'm offended.
I'm a Telstra supporter, and am lucky enough to be in a position to appreciate some of their finer developments of late. I won't sit here and spruik them to you all, but can comfortably say that despite their premium pricing, I am a very happy subscriber in general.
Stuff like this is a real blemish on the image of the company though. Unfortunately, despite his obvious intelligence, Phil Burgess really is a loudmouth. He has been involved in some very fruitful and positive developments since his appointment with Telstra, but his constant public abuse of every avenue that even hints at being a roadblock for the company's plans is just fuel on the fire for those that dislike/despise/disagree with them.
Phil, pick your battles mate. Have a go at the ACCC til the cows come home, even non-Telstra supporters know regulation in this country is seriously flawed. You might not get your way with them, but it's not unreasonable to have a go at the regulator in the current environment.
But seriously, having a public spat at the Australian democracy? Even if he's right, no-one, pro and anti-Telstra alike will not be very accepting of your foreign thoughts. (Maybe Sydney Lawrence...)
I, as will many, will continue to support Telstra, but a bit of humility will go a long long way to helping the public image.
What's that song... "you say it best when you say nothing at all". Terrible song, wise words...
It's always interesting to hear an outsiders opinion. We get to see ourselves in a different perspective. I dont know why some people take offence at this. They must be the sensitive type. I think he's right that we are pretty apathetic and that we don't get involved in the community and government enough. Once we all have fast broadband we'll have more time to get involved. If the ACCC and Howard government had their act together FTTN would already be available. As we all know Telstra have said they were ready to go over 2 years ago.
"...its democracy is sick,"
...compared with Bush's corrupt administration? Lucky you're working here then if you don't like sick democracies.
"its politicians too powerful"
...they implement their own policies and won't accept bribes from large corporations...
, its taxes too high
...Hah! Have you ever really paid any tax to the Australian government? People in your position usually manage to avoid it. I'll commend thetax dept if they've ever got anything out of you!
"its "she'll be right" attitude is mere complacency."
...like turning off CDMA, for instance - she'll be right the bushies aren't vocal enough to cause us any real problems - and shoot, noone can phone them about it anyway!
Everybody keep calm. We are simply observing the death throes of the Anti-Telstra Brigade.
For an honest opinion on the lecture of Dr Phil Burgess please refer to the writings of Australia's senior journalist Terry McCrann in the Herald Sun May 01, 2008.
Among glowing references to Dr Phil were the following. "His(Phils) observations about the formation of good public policy were fresher, more interesting, and more substantive than anything seen at Kevin Rudd 'ideas' summit".
Also "What was especially impressive was that Burgess delivered an extremely rare, even unique 'outsiders' view and interpretation of Australia that actually knew the subject".
Desperate people do desperate things when the blowtorch goes onto the belly and the fact that our Government and the Australian people are awake to the bludeing freeloads of Telstra's opponents is causing intense fear.
You keep referring to some ant-telstra brigade, what does that mean? Are you alluding to some sort of conspiracy theory or do you just bundle anyone who does not agree with telstra press releases as being the "anti teltra brigade"? Everyone that I know who is "anti-telstra" has suffered a bad experience with telstra that is far beyond what would normally be classed a poor customer service. Many of these experiences relate to the deceptive blocking of access to adsl services. I do not know of any other coprporate organisation that has used deception to block my access to services of other companies ( I am sure there are some) so I am vocal in my opposition to an organisation that does not represent my interests but wants to control my access to information. The only fear I have is that a private organisation that has a history of acting against my interests,can control my access to the information economy.
If telstra really believes that competitor use of the public infrastructure is freeloading then why don't they allow the management buyout of the pstn as suggested by Rocca and Thoady last year? The answer is that its a "gold mine" and monopolistic advantage.
What a load of croc from Burgess. As a US citizen, what would he know about a democracy? He does not understand the Westminster System, nor the underlying values of Australia as a society. Thankfully we do not have a system that is easily manipulated by minority interests such as fundamentalist christians, corporates and criminals. Nor is Australia sold on the premise that capitolism will deliver social equity to the majority of Australians and that taxes pay for social safety nets. If he thinks the US system is superior then explain US poverty, health system, sub-prime crisis, presidential elections, foreign policy etc. Also explain what happened at US West when they were running things.
The govt should follow the US lead and imediately revoke his visa.
Simon you demonstrate pathetic ignorance and speak in riddles with the hope to bamboozle those who may be so unfortunate to be born with your moronic intelligence.
I would think that Dr. Phil would certainly understand the Westminster system and the underlying values of Australian society. Your "the Government should follow the US lead and imediately(sic) revoke his visa" truly shows your demented thinking.
It also shows the dereliction of sensible debate that, unless sanity prevails, will prove the downfall of those who for years have shamed a living by Government manipulation and devious collection of taxpayer money.
Sydney Lawrence writes: "those who for years have shamed a living by Government manipulation and devious collection of taxpayer money."
You mean Telstra?
From a telstra sponsored website.
http://www.nowwearetalking.com.au/shareholder-stories/sydney-lawrence-from-manly-qld
Maybe you can update some of the numbers.
Or at least if it is him he supposedly cut his losses and sold his shares. Nevertheless he's still clearly bum chums with the beast.
James, are you the same one who tells others to keep the stupid comments to themselves?
What makes you think burgess would know anything about the Westminster system? My thinking may be demented but if an Australian attacked the US Govt their visa would be revoked and they would be deported. Are you saying that the uS Govt is demented?
As to your last para, doesn't make any sense at all?? Are you saying someone has made a living by making the Govt ashamed?
You are running Telstra not the country.
If you want to run the country then you are more than welcome to run for parliament through channels that are open to us all.
Of course, if you are having difficulty running a monopoly like Telstra then perhaps you should try a different approach.
All the best Phil.
For some time the anti Telstra Brigade has constantly told anybody silly enough to listen that any investment in Telstra shares would be a failure and should be sold.
Egg on face again ATB as reported in today's Press Telstra is again the darling of the stock-market and major advisors are encouraging Australians to purchase Telstra shares.
Incidentally, good to see Senator Conroy is not bluffed by Optus and has announced that the Government timetable for the FTTN will stand.
"For some time the anti Telstra Brigade has constantly told anybody silly enough to listen that any investment in Telstra shares would be a failure and should be sold.
Egg on face again"
I agree Sydney - they shouldn't have been purchased in the first place.
"Incidentally, good to see Senator Conroy is not bluffed by Optus and has announced that the Government timetable for the FTTN will stand."
Yep, typical of Labor, rush rush rush, stuff around and still give the contract to their American mates, or should I say, buddies.
Sydney I feel sorry for you, you've obviously bought a lot of Telstra stock, and watched the stock price dive and never recover.
Telstra has been bad investment for years.
The only people making good money from Telstra are its directors!
Why don't you cut your losses and invest in something that will make you money.
Fred, not just the directors, have you seen what the amigos are paying themselves?
You people would be funny if it was not so tragic for you. When will you wake up? To regain some semblance of respect you must present your arguement in a logical and rational manner. Telstra opponents are now in a very unpleasant position and unless they start to play the game with honesty and fairness things could get much worse.
The Optus complaint about to short a time for FTTN tender was disingenuous as they have had years to cobble something together. Truth is they would prefer to keep the old freeload on Telstra trick to continue. No such luck with an honest Rudd Government in control. So please start to talk sense because time is rapidly runnibg out.
What a load of garbage from the "anti Telstra Brigade", I invest in Telstra who then in turn spend billions on infrastructure in Australia. Sure I can invest in Coal, Oil, Banks or others but they will return big one year and make losses the next, I would like some reliability in my investment.
Why is it that Telstra now holds about 55% of the telecommunications revenue in Australia (remove Telstra's global business revenue) but they invest over 80% of all money spent on telecommunications in this country?
When was the last time a major bank in Australia made a loss? The big four made profits exceeding a combined total of $11bn last year.
When interest rates rise, the banks all line up to follow suit. When rates fall they up the fees and charges. Nothing in that business model equates to a situation where any of them will make a loss for the year.
Using the Commonwealth Bank as an example, their shares at float time were around the $2.00 mark. That $2.00 is now $44.90 (Source: ASX.com.au). ANZ is valued at $22.60, National is valued at $31.48 and Westpac at 37.39. Telstra is valued at $4.63 - read: playlunch money. This is despite Telstra being a much larger company with assets far exceeding the value of those owned by any bank.
Looks like whilst the Amigos are sitting on their khybers shooting their narcissistic mouths off Telstra is dwindling in value when compared to other large companies.
"Why is it that Telstra now holds about 55% of the telecommunications revenue in Australia (remove Telstra's global business revenue) but they invest over 80% of all money spent on telecommunications in this country?"
Because unlike Telstra, small ISPs and the banks don't receive extremely large handouts from the Commonwealth.
Where are the handouts? you post plenty of facts about share prices and then trow an off the cuff remark about handouts. and if you mention the USO you will prove you are as stupid as your name.
Also:
the government has not micro managed the baning industry for the past 15 years
they did not force banks to reduce costs, market forces did
they did not mandate they loan funds to people and competitors at next to no profit
they did not force them to stay in regional centers and make a loss in those areas
they did not stop them of increasing margin like they have in recent times .. the combined 25 basis point increases outside of the reserve bank has added approximately $1 billion in additional interest charges to Australians.
And finally comparing the actual $ amount for a share is no indicator of company value "playlunch". A $1 per share company can be bigger then a $100 per share company, it is all based on the number of actual shares in the market. Your comments just prove how much of a naive and stupid person you really are
However with current share capitalisations, Telstra is only twice the size of the Commonwealth Bank. Despite Telstra's mammoth proportions any of the large banks still makes a far better investment opportunity, short or long term.
Your point is?
Ahhhh yes, I can see your whole post was based on hypothetical claptrap instead of facts.
The same guy that constantly claims Telstra overcharges and makes huge profits is here saying they do not make enough due to their share price performance. This is hypocrisy in it's purest form. I agree with the above (typo guy) that they should not be so tightly constrained by the government.
If you take a look at the share prices of telephone companies around the world Telstra has performed as well or better then the majority, including Singtel Optus.
Ahh, actually they do micro manage the Banks and do control charges and interest rates. Heard of APRA, Basel and AIFRS? Banks are watched much more closley that Telstra and other carriers.
I'm just glad I sold my T1 at $8 and invested in CBA at $12!
The only reason Phil and the other 'B grade' american executives are here is for the juicy bonus at the end of their stay. Just wait until they go and see how they have run down our copper infrastructure in the name of profits. It's time Australian companies employed 'A grade' Australian executives who would have some consideration for the community in which their children will grow up in. They might also be less inclined to import cheap IT services from Indian sweatshops, and employ well trained Aussies.
Dont whine at the those whom are really pissed with what has happened to our telco after all its greedy buggers like you that kindled its demise.
Try the Commonwealth Bank I get 8% plus for my investments and at fixed term.
Telstra has declined in service and increased its fees to an unprecendental level since privatisation too support shareholders.
The writing is on wall it will have to be split in half one for landline based communication held by the federal govt the other ie mobile well let Syd have it hahaha.
We need a single form of mobile phone communication and I guess we are stuck with 3 g.So improvement is required and a good start is with a back to basic handset that works.
One can offer so many ideas but first we must get back on the rails with an objective.That means getting rid of those Dammed Yanks.
Regards Wayne Bunbury
Yes I agree operational separation would be a good thing, also running all of Optus' cabling underground would be great or how about piping water in from the far north to drought affected areas or have uniform daylight savings times on the east coast or even better ... peace and harmony between all religions. Some things should have been done many years ago as part of a proper planning process, some would cost a fortune to rip up and start again and then again some are simply impossible. I will let you decide on which category this falls into.
As for rates and service, call rates have dropped, service availability and response levels are at their highest points ever and yo still complain.
The only fees that I can think off that have increased is labor costs. They now charge when Telstra does work that could be carried out by contractors or electricians, Telstra no longer does a lot of the free in building work they use to as a government owned company. This has been around since deregulation and the ACA allowing any licensed contractor to do a lot of the old 'Telecom only' cabling work on people premises.
This opens a point I have not seen discussed in a long time, the fact that people attack Telstra for reducing it's work force by 60% from it's peak in the 1970's & 1980's. The overall workforce in the telco industry in Australia has increased in the past 30 years dispite all the increases in automation and technology. This doesn't count the additional workforce in areas such as the cabling etc.
"The only fees that I can think off that have increased is labor costs. They now charge when Telstra does work that could be carried out by contractors or electricians..."
Line renal has also gone up by as much as 200% in the last 7 years. In reality not a great deal has come down in the fixed world, with perhaps the exception of long distance and international calls which is all fixed line Service Providers can really compete on. A few years ago the ACCC mandated that Mobile Carriers reduce their termination rates (for those who dont know these are the rates mobile carriers charge for calls to enter their network). Telstra lobbied very hard for this with one of its key arguments being that by having mobile termination rates reduced would allow it to charge its fixed line customers less to call mobiles. Instead Telsra decided to just pocket the hundreds of millions in savings and never passed any of the benefits on to customers. The situation we have today highlights when a vertically integrated monopoly controlls all the infrastructure it's the consumers suffer.
While competition in Mobiles has done well it's a pipe dream to expect muliple fixed line networks to ever to appear. It was attempted in capital cities the 90's costing two companies dearly and subsequentally the rollouts were never completed. This is why we require a different solution in the fixed world; one where a separate entitity controls the infrastructure and all service providers have wholesale access on equal terms. No matter what the Testra groupies say there is no way they can refute this argument that it would achieve a much better result for consumers through increased competition. Their only way to argue this is to change the topic... Burgess style!
If you check your facts you will find that Telstra lobbied for the reduction of the fixed to mobile and mobile to mobile termination rates. It was primarily Optus and to a lesser extent Vodaphone who lobbied to keep them at the elevated levels.
If you are going to post what you make out to be facts please post all the facts, but then again if you posted all the real facts you would not be doing anything to further your own cause.
As per above
Got to agree with the guy from Telstra. WE ARE WEAK! We let let the government waste millions of dollars on just about anything they want, with little reguard for the wishes of the people who elected them.
We scream for more hospitals, police, better teachers pay, lower petrol prices, safer streets and have we got any of these?
NO instead we get a things such as a proposition for covering rail yards, KRudds summit, a powerless petrol commissoner , GST and excise on petrol is still there, increased taxes and fees.
Do we do anything about it? No we let them.
We were told in 96 that the government was banning firearms for the good of the community. What a joke thats turned out to be. Its easier for the authorites to crack down on legal weapons than illegal ones and by manipulating the media and their figures, it makes the public feel safer and increase their chance of re-election ( Does anyone think crime rates are falling and our streets safer? Government figures and the chief commisioners think so, but ask a cop on the street and you will find a different story).
Same goes for the banning of laser pointers. Just another permit, that costs money and does nothing else but at least they can tell the people that there safer.
Years ago the banks convinced/conned the government that deregulation would lead to lower fees and increased competion. Again what a joke
We let the Reserve Bank raise interest rates due to inflation but how much of this inflation is due to increased indirect taxes? EG The new alcohol tax for starters.
Government tends to make little changes on things to make the people feel good while ignoring the things that really matter.
The above remarks that emphasize the smaller returns to Telstra investors (owners) when compared to the Banks are in fact supporting and highlighting the damage the ACCC does to Telstra.
What other Australian company is forced to support its competitors, and in fact regulated to assist those competitors to pilfer its(Telstra's) customers. It is time for this imbecility to stop.
We all endorse competition and welcome it, but to compete opponents must invest capital for plant and equipment not simply freeload and blood-suck on a fellow competitor.
To solve all the present debate, create honest competition, and end the requirement of interference of the ACCC, Optus should build an FTTN cable to their Node and a wireless system from their Node to the customer.
Telstra can then do their own thing and install their FTTN an retain their current copper cable to the home. The Singapore Government (Optus) could well afford this investment. Problem solved. Everybody happy.
If Telstra were to sell its entire fixed line network to another company such as Optus (for whatever reason), do you believe Telstra would then go and build it's own fixed line network of the same size? The answer to that scenario is clearly no as Telstra know just as well as everyone else that Australia cannot support two fixed line networks of this magnitude. It would be a complete waste of capital spending, quite possiby even sending the corporation broke, so why do you think others such as Optus should do it?
The illusion that Telstra competitors "freeload and blood-suck", "leech", "cherrypick" or whatever you want to call has already been proven to be false by the ACCC, the Australian Competition Tribunal and the High Court of Australia so just let it go Sydney.
O.K. James forget that one.
One question to you though. How is it not legal (Government regulation for security reasons) for an foreign owned company to own more than 30%of Australia's Telstra and yet we have a wholly owned foreign company (Optus) hoping to own and control 100% of Australia's communication system.
Sydney, the answer is easy and for that matter it is also TRUE!
Labor privatised AUSSAT, renaming it Optus and selling it to whoever dared to risk the investment - that's right, the same people you genuflect to every morning before brekky whilst hailing them as your saviour. Labor flogged the new Optus WITHOUT ANY restrictions on foreign ownership what-so-ever and it therefore was only going to be a matter of time before Australian shareholders such as Mayne Nickless and PBL would cash in their chips and allow the Poms and later the Government of Singapore to get their mits on it.
Now... When Mr Howard came along some years later with a plan to flog Telstra, he, who you blast with scorn and derision at every chance you get, placed strict limits on foreign shareholdings in Telstra. From what I gather, no single entity can own more than 12% and the total foreign ownership cannot go over 30%.
That said, I would have preferred both AUSSAT and Telecom, as both Optus and Telstra were then known to stay under Government ownership as public utilities providing SERVICE instead of what both provide now, which is an easy market for any manufacturer of aspirin and codeine.
Hah. You call those you despise bad business practices and complete greed as mindless.
It was found and proved that there were constant "errors" as Telstra put it, in our phone bills. This was only proven when we stopped using dialup and moved to adsl. We basically ONLY used the home phone for dialup as each of us simply used our mobiles. A three month period passed, and instead of our bill showing next to nothing, it was actually owing more than the previous bill. Mmm.
And one of my good friends had her computer stolen, she was on the 200MB deal with Telstra's Big Pond. She received a bill stating that she'd gone over the 200MB limit by $300+. It wasn't until the ombudsman got involved that they wiped the deception off the bill and wrote a kiss arse letter.
When my mother a few years back transfered to another company, someone from Telstra called her and threatened that the phones may stop working at any time even with another company if she didn't go back to Telstra. She was frightened, and she signed straight back on. Illegal? Yes. But it happened.
You can call me part of the "Anti-Telstra Brigade", as if it's an insult -- but i'm proud to be part of the generalisation.
Lord Watchdog I take this opportunity to thank you for your considered reply to my earlier correspondence.
My question was If Telstra cannot be more than 30% foreign owned, because of security reasons, how can a 100% foreign owned company (Optus) be allowed to participate in the FTTN tender.
Sydney, according to your Labor mates, Australia is a free market where both local and foreign companies can play on a level field for business.
If you don't like it talk to your mate Kevin. You should get a favourable response - I mean, the sun does shine out of his backside, doesn't it.
I repeat my previous comment that neither Telecom or AUSSAT should have been privatised.
Yes and then we would still be paying $2 per minute to call the US, connecting via 128kbps ISDN or expensive Frame Relay and having to deal with a government department that does not want to move into the 21st century. Telstra or Dropouts may not be perfect but at least they are offering services that are improving year on year. To expect two government owned companies to compete against hundreds of smaller private companies for infrastructure and services the country would have fallen apart by now. If they privatised the infrastructure and kept it as Telecom and the retail as Telstra I am sure we would be in a different situation right now but they didn't and as such lets not lament about what could have been and look forward.
"Yes and then we would still be paying $2 per minute to call the US, connecting via 128kbps ISDN or expensive Frame Relay and having to deal with a government department that does not want to move into the 21st century."
Are we talking about the same government-owned utility that assumed control of telegraph (morse) lines in the 1900's, oversaw the introduction of voice services then the first automatic mechanical exchanges and then coverting them to digital exchanges?
Technology would have progressed regardless of whether privatisation or competition was introduced. As for pricing - who knows and who cares? This thread was supposed to be about a yank, who doesn't belong here, taking the p i s s out of Australia's social fabric instead of getting on with his work.
"Telstra or Dropouts may not be perfect"
That is correct, they aren't perfect or anywhere near it. People, including me, don't expect perfection but we do expect what we pay for and at the moment that is not happening. If Telstra offered good products backed up by fair warranties, good service and didn't treat customers with contempt then Telstra would still have a 100% monopoly instead of having to fight for what customers they have left.
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Get a free health in the USA mate u moron or get one free here in Baxter detention detention centre where you belong.Go Home Seppo