John Linton
With the already heavy use of mobile telephones with 'free' calls in off peak periods and the slowly growing use of VoIP by the more technically adept DSL users the issue of "why do I have to pay for a telephone line rental" is becoming more insistent.
I read this, brief, article in the SMH this morning:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/wireless--broadband/the-bare-facts-about-naked-dsl/2007/10/12/1191696156893.html
which indicates that ISPs such as iiNet are getting quite close to offering an ADSL service over a standard telephone line without the end user being required to also pay a rental for the telephone line. iiNEt is quoted as providing a "naked" ADSL service at $44.95 per month including 4 gb of downloads which is a very attractive offer compared to what's available today. The article references other ISPs doing something similar early in 2008.
There is little doubt that no competent user needs a telephone line to make conventional calls and either their mobile or a VoIP service is both lower cost and more convenient with many more features. For those users the perceived payment of $20 to $30+ to rent a service they have no need for is becoming more than irritating.
Exetel has the opportunity of offering a "naked" ADSL2 service via either it's current two ADSL2 providers (Powertel and Optus). This could be done, literally, today but the cost structures currently being offered make it very difficult to structure a plan that would be attractive. Doubtless the current pricing will change over time, but what that time might turn out to be is not possible to predict.
It seems to be one more complication in the assessment process of determining what future, if any, a 'land line' (as opposed to wireless) has in providing data services to end users in Australia. Right now the reduction in the land line price (for ADSL only) would seem to be a logical and obvious reaction to the 'threat' of wireless. This would undoubtedly be true if there were multiple providers of land lines who would naturally react to a technology threat to their revenue structures.
But as there is only Telstra (who has forgiven itself all operating inefficiences and dealt with competitive pricing of other services over the past 20 years by raising the base telephone line rental from around $A10 a month to $A30+ a month) a reduction in line rental to its wholesale customers has taken a long time and wasn't done to combat wireless competition it was done by edict from the regulator.
What Telstra now does to protect the inflated (and one suspects unsustainable) prices it charges its own huge base of retail users will be very interesting to see. As with every delay perpetrated by Telstra since 'de-regulation' was wished on it getting on for 20 years ago there will be no change for a long while - it wouldn't be financially possible unless there is something really clever that Telstra has cooked up over the twenty or so years this inevitable erosion began and therefore, presumably, so did the Telstra planning of what to do about it.
No matter which way Telstra moves the financial downsides look insuperable. However, as I referenced yesterday, the most likely scenario is the bundling/price capping of ADSL, telephone line rental, call costs and, maybe mobile call charges plus the new wireless roaming abilities in to one 'super' communications bundle. A carrier that owns a wire line, mobile and wirelss network (and ones larger and more comprehensive than all of its competitors) would easily be able to do that.
Sometimes I wonder how I ever got involved in this business.