Comments on: Telstra holds back broadband speeds. Again. (Revisited) http://stilgherrian.com/politics/telstra-holds-back-broadband-speeds-again-revisited/ All publication is a political act. All communication is propaganda. All art is pornography. All business is personal. All hail Eris. Vive les poissons rouges sauvages! Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:24:41 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Stilgherrian http://stilgherrian.com/politics/telstra-holds-back-broadband-speeds-again-revisited/#comment-15338 Stilgherrian Sun, 18 Jan 2009 20:20:08 +0000 http://stilgherrian.com/?p=3200#comment-15338 <strong>@Rowan:</strong> Telstra's "monopoly" is slowly eroding as competitors build other bits and pieces of infrastructure. Certainly in most parts of Australia, Telstra is the only one with copper wires to every home and business, well-positioned buildings called "telephone exchanges", and a massive array of connecting cables and microwave towers. But Optus has cabled up sections of a few cities too, and in the CBDs of Sydney and Melbourne there's other players' cables under the streets. There's four main players with mobile wireless networks too -- planety of competition -- though Telstra is ahead in terms of coverage in all categories, as far as I understand. And now that I've experienced the mobile networks first-hand, Telstra Next G is the clear winner in technical terms. <strong>What shits me the most, though, is much of Telstra's public attitude.</strong> If Telstra has the biggest market share and mindshare (which it does), and if its products really are the best (which they keep claiming) and if their marketing is competent (and why wouldn't it be?), then they'll continue to be the leader. So why act like such aggressive pricks all the time? @Rowan: Telstra’s “monopoly” is slowly eroding as competitors build other bits and pieces of infrastructure.

Certainly in most parts of Australia, Telstra is the only one with copper wires to every home and business, well-positioned buildings called “telephone exchanges”, and a massive array of connecting cables and microwave towers.

But Optus has cabled up sections of a few cities too, and in the CBDs of Sydney and Melbourne there’s other players’ cables under the streets. There’s four main players with mobile wireless networks too — planety of competition — though Telstra is ahead in terms of coverage in all categories, as far as I understand. And now that I’ve experienced the mobile networks first-hand, Telstra Next G is the clear winner in technical terms.

What shits me the most, though, is much of Telstra’s public attitude.

If Telstra has the biggest market share and mindshare (which it does), and if its products really are the best (which they keep claiming) and if their marketing is competent (and why wouldn’t it be?), then they’ll continue to be the leader. So why act like such aggressive pricks all the time?

]]> By: Rowan http://stilgherrian.com/politics/telstra-holds-back-broadband-speeds-again-revisited/#comment-15332 Rowan Sun, 18 Jan 2009 07:09:17 +0000 http://stilgherrian.com/?p=3200#comment-15332 One can only hope that the days of Telstra's monopoly are numbered. The company should have been broken up into different businesses when it was privatised. Telstra is a business and businesses aren't generally overly friendly to their competitors. One can only hope that the days of Telstra’s monopoly are numbered. The company should have been broken up into different businesses when it was privatised.

Telstra is a business and businesses aren’t generally overly friendly to their competitors.

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