Friday, September 09, 2011

Extraordinary: Australian private phone companies agree not to criticize a new government-owned phone company

What sort of government business must not be criticized? Easy answer: A useless one. People must not be told of the alternatives if the government company is to get much business. It's actually a major confession by the government about how foolish their offering is.

What's happening is that the Leftist government has decided to build a phone network that would have been cutting-edge 5 years ago: A fibre-optic network that will service both phones and internet access.

But it is obsolete even before it is built. All the movement in the market these days is away from fixed services to mobile services -- and 4th generation wireless internet is in fact being rolled out in some parts of Australia in just a few month's time. So the Leftist government is desperately trying to defend its white elephant. The whole project should instead be abandoned before any more money is wasted on it.
Optus has promised not to criticise the National Broadband Network in key regions for 15 years under a deal that raises new warnings the $36 billion project will stifle competition.

Just a week after the competition regulator warned that parts of an $11bn deal with Telstra could prove detrimental to competition and consumers, official documents reveal that an $800 million deal with Optus includes an "anti-disparagement" provision.

The provision, designed to help shore up the number of customers using the NBN, stops Optus from being "expressly critical of" or making "any express adverse statement" about the performance of the network.

The ban would apply in the areas where the No 2 telco has agreed to shut down its cable network, which presently passes 2.4 million premises, and is also likely to affect the 504,000 Optus customers who would be migrated to the NBN.

The deal also stops Optus from marketing its wireless data services to target those households in a way that criticises the NBN. But Optus is still "free to compete in the market for the supply of wireless services".

Telstra has promised not to promote its wireless internet services as a direct substitute for the NBN for the next 20 years.

SOURCE

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

What is the bet any company that does criticize it would be punished, sort of how Obama wanted to punish Verizon for criticizing Obamacare.

Anonymous said...

Why should Optus agree not to point out the defects in the government phone company which is in effect a competitor? There are actually good reasons for this decision.
1. As pointed out by others, the government could make life hard for Optus.
2. While the government phone system (a major competitor) is busy installing its antiquated system, Optus and others are building the future of communications. Why would you stop a competitor from doing something stupid.
3. Optus doesn't need to criticize the govt. system as its flaws will be obvious to customers who as stated in the post are moving toward mobile access.

Anonymous said...

Anon 4:12, many of us see the flaws in Obamacare, and yet a court ruling says Virginia can not sue to overturn the law, you know the government will not let anyone beat them, so they crush their copmetition when people realize the private company is better. Thus the private company goes bye-bye, courtesy of the government.

Anonymous said...

And, courtesy of the three left-wing judges, two appointed by Obummer, and the other by Bubba Clinton. The decision was a forgone conclusion.