[H-GEN] ADSL/capping

[Frank Brand]

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I have never seen Telstra take action against home networks (eg via proxy
server) but I understand they take quite a different course if you try to
connect a server and provide commercial services from it. They have totally
different rates for such commercial.


>What does take my ire tho, is their policy against home networking. I can
>see a reasonable argument for capping volume/bandwidth. (overusing a
>resource to the detriment of other users) But networking? to my mind, any
>internet service is selling bandwidth and capacity on a site connection
>basis only.
>
>It is worth noting the electricity supply industry (far more mature),
>permits (commercial) landlords to resell electricity to tenants.[1] Thus
>the precedent for a supplier not being able to dictate number of users
>within a connection point has already been set. I suspect the laws for this
>were more designed to enable the separation of the electricity generation
>companies from the electricity distribution companies and the creation of
>the competitive electricity industry we have today. (albeit with area based
>monopolies etc.)



Competition? How is this competition? I can buy services from lots of ISP's
and I can buy phone connections from several phone companies but, to my
knowledge, as a small individual purchaser, I have only one possible source
of my electricity at non-negotiable rates. I suspect the distribution
arrangements for electricity were introduced mainly to allow various
governments to privatise the industry and allow the new entrants opportunity
to deal amongst themselves and possibly large corporate buyers (eg Comalco).
Competitive forces for the individual customers do not operate at all. I do
not have access to NEMMCo. Maybe this is mature...I suppose Bill Gates
thinks that his commercial arrangements are evidence of maturity yes. Most
"mature" industries I know have learned to live with limited competition
..eg  brewery, television, cement, motor vehicles, banks etc, etc.  ... oh
yes and electricity and water etc. etc. These industries erect barriers to
entry. One of the great threats to this comfort zone comes from the
non-mature industries shaking the cage and creating new paradigms ( see
Porter's economic arguments eg Poter wheel of influences on an
industry...especially new entrants and new technology).

In Australia we have very few really competitive industries... we have
mostly oligopolies with most industries being dominated by two or three big
players. Our markets are just not big enough.

Just my 2C worth ...I was due for a rant.



Frank Brand


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