Sick of Telstra Bashing

[kiwigeo]

If you want a telephone connected to your house, it will cost you nearly $800 to buy a subscription. You gotta have that before they will even talk to you about a phone line. Another $50 to hook it up, and you still have to buy your own phone, because they (NTT) don't provide one with the line.

When I was living in Japan you were able to on sell your phone service to another person. Alot of the expats I knew would pass on their service to incoming expats for a fair price when they left the country.

My brother who currently lives in Osaka handles all his emails via his mobile phone..is cheaper than doing it via broadband over a normal phone line.

[adrian]

Question: Tennant Creek is not quite as far away from network infrastructure as some of the places I visited last month, so how is it that without the miracle of Telstra, I was paying less than 50c an hour for broadband internet in the back blocks of Siberia, and Mongolia??

I agree, it could be better but with a population only 60%of the size of California in a country the size of the lower fourty eight states in the US what country do you choose as a benchmark?. Who do you want Telstra to be as good as? There isn't a phone company in the world (including US companies) who would like to come to Australia to service a market of 20 million people and have to spend billions on the infrastructure needed to reach them. When was the last time you heard Optus or Vodaphone offer to take on the cost of infrastructure to service the bush? It's not happening and never will. Its the same reason that a lot of country roads are still dirt. There just isn't the population to justify all that expense.
We are rather unique among western countries because we have a huge land mass and a population the size of many western cities. When you look at the infrastructure we've built over the last century it's a testament to a socialist style of government rather than capitalism that's been so successful in countries with larger populations or smaller land masses. All of our infrastrucure has been built by government owned companies using our taxes because no company on the planet would have been able to do it for such a small market.

Having said that, your tax dollars haven't provided much in the way of infrastructure for Telstra in the past 20 years and none at all in the past 10. As a matter of fact any taxpayer's money almost certainly went to the bush to make up for the shortfall. City taxpayers have been subsidising bush services for as long as Australia has had phones. The Commonwealth Bank and Qantas were both built on our taxes and I don't think anybody gets on a 747 and gripes about their taxes paying for it.

There will still be a Universal Service Obligation as there is in many western countries. But the rather ludicrous notion being bandied about, that country people should have an automatic right to a 'city quality phone service' is fairyland stuff.
If anyone wants to moan about the level of service in the bush just ask Carbatec why they don't have a shop in Lightning Ridge. You'll get a good lecture about economics.

[adrian]

I don't know about Telstra per se, I haven't had the (dis)pleasure of dealing with them very much.

But I can tell you about here.

Your's is a very good example. Japan is small enough so that if a sparrow breaks wind, most of the country will hear it and half the country will smell it. There's a population of 125 million crammed into a small space. Most companies in the world would be queueing up to do business there.
You're comparing apples and oranges when you compare it to Oz.

[MajorPanic]

Country people should just be glad that the service isn't provided on a user pays basis.

City people should be glad food produce isn't provided on a user pays basis!

[outback]

:eek:

[MathewA]

I agree, it could be better but with a population only 60%of the size of California in a country the size of the lower fourty eight states in the US what country do you choose as a benchmark?. Who do you want Telstra to be as good as? There isn't a phone company in the world (including US companies) who would like to come to Australia to service a market of 20 million people and have to spend billions on the infrastructure needed to reach them. When was the last time you heard Optus or Vodaphone offer to take on the cost of infrastructure to service the bush? It's not happening and never will. Its the same reason that a lot of country roads are still dirt. There just isn't the population to justify all that expense.
We are rather unique among western countries because we have a huge land mass and a population the size of many western cities. When you look at the infrastructure we've built over the last century it's a testament to a socialist style of government rather than capitalism that's been so successful in countries with larger populations or smaller land masses. All of our infrastrucure has been built by government owned companies using our taxes because no company on the planet would have been able to do it for such a small market.

Having said that, your tax dollars haven't provided much in the way of infrastructure for Telstra in the past 20 years and none at all in the past 10. As a matter of fact any taxpayer's money almost certainly went to the bush to make up for the shortfall. City taxpayers have been subsidising bush services for as long as Australia has had phones. The Commonwealth Bank and Qantas were both built on our taxes and I don't think anybody gets on a 747 and gripes about their taxes paying for it.

There will still be a Universal Service Obligation as there is in many western countries. But the rather ludicrous notion being bandied about, that country people should have an automatic right to a 'city quality phone service' is fairyland stuff.
If anyone wants to moan about the level of service in the bush just ask Carbatec why they don't have a shop in Lightning Ridge. You'll get a good lecture about economics.

Canada's a good bench mark. A ten times better system there than anything you could hope for here. 35 million people in a country that is about the same size as Aus but hundred times less accessable and the maintanence costs are much higher. I doubt telus or any other canadian telecommunication company would ever want to come anywhere near here, the systems a joke. The only thing that I could fugure out is that it is deliberately made this bad simpy to confuse the users into paying far too much.

10 times the service for half the price or less - you decide.

[Rocker]

Adrian,

I live in an area that, according to the latest plan, lies within the 'urban footprint' of Brisbane. When I look up when we are due to get broadband, the answer is "August". It is now mid-September, and still no broadband. If this is the service we 'city' folk get from Telstra, God help the bush.

Rocker

[MajorPanic]

I live in an area that, according to the latest plan, lies within the 'urban footprint' of Brisbane.

"urban footprint"??

I gotta pack a slab & 4 rounds on white to get to Rockers'!!

[Gingermick]

However, our taxes pay for the infrastructure

No, we pay taxes to the government of the day for the right to live here and then they pay for the infrastructure, how else could they sell it back to us.

That's why the government should not be selling Telstra because it is not a viable business unless cutbacks are made. By making it profit driven, money will only be spent in areas where a reasonable return can be made..

They put themselves in an untenable position selling the bit they did. Now they are trying to legislate that a publicly owned company not do what is in the interest of their shareholders.
Its a fooookin shambles it is.

[Rocker]

Major,

If you consult the latest SE QLD plan, you will find that the northern boundary of Brisbane is Elimbah Creek, which is at least a kilometre to the north of my place. OK, so I am not quite downtown, but I expect to enjoy the amenities of living within a major metropolis

Rocker

[Gingermick]

but I expect to enjoy the amenities of living within a major metropolis
Rocker

Then you should probably move to a real city

[zathras]

Outback,

Tried to give you a greenie but I need to spread some more luvin around

Arrooooohhhhhh

[Gingermick]

Then there is the so called "local loop" legislation, which requires Telstra to install and maintain the cable runs into to brand new housing estates. .

In all the housing estate that we do, a letter is sent to Telstra requesting an offer of supply. They then respomd with a price and the developer accepts or has a worthless estate.
I'm not sure, but think that most developers are looking, always, for the cheapest option. If they were offered optic fibres at 2 or 3 times the cost they would still choose the copper. (At least the developers I work with)

[MajorPanic]

Then you should probably move to a real city

What's that Mick?...... any city south of RockVagas????

[MajorPanic]

I expect to enjoy the amenities of living within a major metropolis

As you should David, within a days walk of a state capital, have it all!!