By Stephen Phillips
Dominant Australian telecommunications carrier, Telstra Corp hit the market yesterday with the first high speed internet service beamed by satellite across the whole country. The service, delivering internet connection at up to 400kbps compared to 56kbps on standard phone lines is at a premium in Australia where many remote outback communities unserved by terrestrial networks have been shut out of the internet boom.
Former state-owned monopoly Telstra will offer the service to customers in areas without 64kbps ISDN service at a discount of 50% (saving up to a maximum of $474) on required hardware and installation costs. The progressive liberalization of Telstra since its partial privatization in June 1997 has sparked fears in Australia that the firm would neglect the rural infrastructure in pursuit of higher margin business in the big cities. John Anderson, deputy Australian Prime Minister hailed the service as the first time a broadband product has been available Australia-wide and at the same price for country people and city people.
Telstra is also involved in an imminent launch of an international internet service for mobile users based on satellites in global consortium Inmarsat’s constellation. Telstra is one of eight PTTs and satellite-based communications providers holding shares in Inmarsat which have signed up to deliver the so-called Global Area Network (GAN) based on dedicated $10,000 luggable receivers. It is vying to hit the market ahead of Norwegian state monopoly, Telenor whose satellite-based broadband network aimed at mobile users in Europe and Africa goes live on September 22.
