The Government has offered Australia's three mobile operators, and vividwireless, renewal of their existing spectrum allocated on 15 year licences in the late 90s and early 2000s at set prices, while the Government expects to rake in $3 billion.
Although it comes at a higher cost, broadband and video can now become commonplace, further destroying the tyranny of distance, with prices set to fall as Optus and Vodafone apply their competitive pressure.
In addition, telemedicine can be vastly improved, and while there’ll never be a substitute for a doctor on site, a video call, whether through a video phone, or the higher resolution that a Skype videoconferencing session can bring, can mean the difference between an hours long drive or visit from the Royal Flying Doctor Service, or a video visit from the doctor that could more quickly determine what action is required next.
The Next G network won’t be perfect on April 29, 2008. There will be blackspots. There will be complaints. There will be consumer, government, media and competitive pressure.
But Telstra is a company that is dealing with people. And currently, it’s the only company out there, in the bush, delivering the widest service to the largest number of people.
Will Telstra be so heartless as to cut their customers off from the communications miracles of the 21st century? Will Telstra’s shareholders allow that to happen?
Will Sol Trujillo – and future leaders – want to be remembered as the people – and the company – that shafted the men and women of regional and rural Australia, the very people that work hard, in so many ways, to provide goods, services, minerals, metals, livestock, food and more to people in the cities – and around the world?
I should certainly hope not. I’ll be campaigning as best I can to ensure Telstra don’t forget the rural and regional people of Australia, for better coverage, and for more affordable pricing, or much more value for the money. And I’m guessing that you will, too, in whatever way you can.
CDMA is gone. But the people it served are not. Telstra may be accused of many things indeed, including the shafting of its customers, in a range of different ways.
But if Telstra doesn’t ensure that people in rural and regional Australia have access to the same services available to those in metropolitan areas, Telstra will inevitably be shafting us all.
Private company or not, I just don’t believe it’s going to happen, and I don’t believe that Federal Minister for Communications, Senator Stephen Conroy, or the Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, will let it happen either to the rural and regional working families of Australia, because we’ll never, ever forget it. And they know it.
So, keep the pressure up, whether you’re affected or not. Be the squeaky wheel, and make sure you get the grease. Keep Telstra and our politicians to their promises – they answer to us, their customers, after all, and even if you want to cry at CDMA’s closure, celebrate in the telecommunications chapter that is closing, and the new one that has just begun.
David Bass
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