Telecommunications - Wednesday, October 19, 2011 10:33 - 31 Comments

If TPG buys iiNet, NBN competition is sunk

opinion Right now, there’s a nice little spread of products and services available in Australia’s fixed broadband market. Like the bustling food court in Sydney’s Pitt Street Mall, virtually everything is on offer. Burgers and chips, fried rice, Thai stir-fries and Indian curries, and even deluxe muffins baked with chocolatey goodness.

Most Australian broadband customers will be looking for a somewhat mainstream option. They want a reasonably priced broadband package, with fairly decent customer service and some value-added options as a bonus on top. So they pick iiNet. As households get larger and consume more services, they often seek to save money by bundling packages together. So they go with a bigger telco like Telstra or Optus.

For the more technically minded, companies like Internode are going strong, and you can even complain directly to tech-savvy managing directors like Simon Hackett on Twitter if your ping time isn’t the best. And of course, if you’re pinching pennies the bottom of the barrel you’ve got the option of TPG or Dodo, both of which offer an acceptable service at a steep discount.

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