iiNet opens the broadband floodgates

However, the more important immediate item for consideration is that iiNet's substantial broadband network has been opened to its rivals.

Telcos and Internet service providers can now use that network to sell high-speed ADSL2+ broadband at up to 24Mbps.

All they have to do is place a call to PowerTel's HQ and hook up a deal.

The move will of course allow iiNet to wring greater return from the expensive network and claw back some financial security. But from a customer point of view the implications of the move are much grander.

iiNet's move comes as Optus is simultaneously preparing to allow rivals access to its own broadband network, which is of a similar size.

NEC Australia's NEXTEP DSL wholesale division is also speeding up the ongoing ADSL2+ upgrade of its own broadband infrastructure as part of an access agreement with telco People Telecom.

Now it's said that trouble comes in threes. But in this case it may be three lots of blessings.

As these developments change the Australian telecommunications market over the next six months, customers can expect to see ADSL2+ broadband become far more widely available and much cheaper.

A raft of smaller ISPs and telcos will cosy up to the new wholesale kings and start selling broadband services sixteen times the speeds they were previously offering off the back of Telstra's network.

One thing to expect is steady downward pressure on ADSL2+ prices as more competition enters the market.

The higher speeds will also have consequences for currently edge technologies that are on the verge of becoming mainstream. A sudden upsurge in the use of Internet telephony and video on demand can be confidently predicted.

What do you think the broadband market will look like in six months? Are you eagerly awaiting ADSL2+ services in your area? Drop me a line directly at renai.lemay@zdnet.com.au.