A while back, frustration with my inability to get online outside of the office drove me to invest in a 3G data service from Hutchinson's 3. For $30 per month, I get 2GB of data that's accessible pretty much anywhere I go (I do all my work in metropolitan areas).
In telecoms, Telstra is no 800 pound gorilla. It's an 800 pound colic-ridden infant, irritably throwing its toys out of the pram when it doesn't get its own way.
It has been a busy year in telecoms, whether because of the increasingly bitter relationship between Telstra and the government; the awarding of the contentious but (finally) progressive broadband contract to OPEL; the pivotal election that led to a change of government; or the move of 3G mobile technology into the mainstream at last.
Tevye, the much loved protagonist of Fiddler on the Roof, was full of wisdom. "A bird may love a fish," he memorably said, "but where would they build a home together?"
In a massive "special edition" of our telco podcast Twisted Wire, we talk to virtually everyone in the telecommunications industry about the break-up of Telstra, including man of the moment, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy.
Virtually everyone in the telecommunications industry has their say in the Senate Standing Committee's public hearing into the pending legislation to split up Telstra, in this week's Twisted Wire podcast.
How well Stephen Conroy handles Telstra's challenge will determine whether we're hurtling towards a great new era in telecommunications, or fated to even more years stuck in the grip of Telstra's well-entrenched market position.
Now that Minister Stephen Conroy has played his hand regarding Telstra's separation, the hard part begins.
It wasn't too long ago that critics of WiMax wireless technology were declaring it dead at the starting gate.
Getting Senator Stephen Conroy's regulatory reform for the telecommunications industry through the parliament would need support from the Senate. On Twisted Wire we ring around to see which parties are supportive and which are against.
Given that the new iPhone 3G S is rated at up to 7.2Mbps, you'd think Telstra would be all over it as a potential show pony for Next G's purported high-speed performance. Yet the opposite seems to be true.
One of the more curious aspects of the iPhone phenomenon has been the disconnect between the device's capabilities and carriers' willingness to support them.
WiMax could be the standard that drives the next phase of mobile broadband, it provides an opportunity for players wanting to establish a pure IP network to carry voice and data effectively but is this what operators want?
Last year I opined that, even if Telstra did launch Apple's iPhone 3G, conflicting goals meant it couldn't afford to seriously back the product. This year, Telstra proved me right, and the reason is simple: Australia's biggest telco just wants to be a Mac.
Next week the government will announce the winning bidder for the build of the National Broadband Network. The announcement is expected when Kevin Rudd returns from the G20 in London.
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