Telstra has revealed the addition of almost one million new mobile services in the six months to December 2011, but Sensis revenues plummeted 24 percent in 12 months.
Australians’ fleeting love affair with DSL broadband is on the wane; DSL's share of the broadband market fell dramatically in the first half of the year, even as mobile broadband subscriber numbers boomed.
The following is the text of a letter sent by the Minister for
Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator the Hon Kim Carr, to
Enhanced Project By-law Scheme and Tariff Concession System stakeholders
The changing usage patterns identified by the Australian Bureau of
Statistics latest internet report is dramatic enough that shadow
communications minister Nick Minchin highlights the dangers of
governments trying to “pick winners” when it comes to technology.
The ABS data showed that the market share for fixed line broadband
services fell from 63% to 57%, while the mobile wireless marketshare
– incredibly – jumped from 20% to 27%.
In the six months from December last year to June, the ABS said the
number of mobile wireless subscriptions climbed more than 50% from 1.3
million to 2 million, while fixed line numbers (about 4.2 million) fell
slightly.
With users voting with the feet and leaving fixed-line services in
favour of the convenience of mobility, Senator Minchin’s office says
the ABS numbers highlight the risk government is taking by committing
$43 billion to fixed line fibre.
“If not the numbers, you cannot ignore the trend,” Senator Minchin’s
office told iTWire. “Really it highlights what we have been saying …
that Government’s should not attempt to pick winners.”
The ABS numbers also demonstrated a general trend towards marginally
higher download speeds continued, with 57% of subscribers now using a
download speed of 1.5Mbps or greater, compared with 51% in December
2008.
Regardless, given the changing market trend, Senator Minchin says it is
“reckless” to move forward without a comprehensive and publicly debated
cost-benefit analysis .
“Every customer who makes the shift, is one less customer who will be
prepared to pay for fixed line NBN services and Labor has no idea the
extent to which this trend will continue into the future or what threat
this may pose to the viability of the NBN,” he said.
David Bass
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