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ABC - Australia's National Public Broadcaster
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has called on the federal government to have its online video service exempted from Internet Service Provider usage caps.
Mark Scott, ABC’s Managing Director, called on the government to intervene as part of Australia’s development of a National Broadband Network (NBN). In comments directed to legislators drafting the regulatory framework for the NBN, Scott argued that “publicly-funded content and services carried over the NBN, including those of the ABC, should be available free to the Australian people.”
Scott is referring primarily to the ABC’s iView portal, which allows Australians to watch ABC-TV programming online. Scott is worried that without an exemption, Australians simply won’t take advantage of the service, fearing they’ll exceed their monthly usage allowance.
The majority of Australia’s ISPs have strict usage limits on their services, blaming the expensive and limited underseas fiber connections Australia has with the rest of the global Internet. Scott argues that since ABC content will be domestically distributed, there is no valid argument to cap it.
Only a small handful of ISPs, iiNet, Internode, iPrimus, Westnet and Adam Internet among them, provide the content without it counting against your usage allowance.
Other stories of interest:
- State Senator Joe Robach (R-Greece) Expresses Concern About Usage Caps; Asks Public Service Commission to Get Involved
- Arguing for the End of Usage Caps in Australia: Revolting Against Internet Overcharging
- FCC Commissioners “Discuss Frontier Usage Caps” At Hearing in Washington
- Limbo Dance Redux: Bell Canada Lowers Usage Allowances on Customers, But Sells Usage Insurance for “Peace of Mind”
- Suddenly Caps? Suddenlink Introduces Usage Measuring Tool to “Help Customers”
You forgot to add that the ISPs that do deliver uncapped broadband charge MUCH MUCH higher rates.
Let’s even look at Satellite Internet, Hughesnet offers 1mbps/128k for $60 a month with a usage cap of 200mb a day (and will give you an exception during the early morning).
Now here is what Telstra offers for Australian $105 ( US $90 a month) you will get 256/64kbps plan with 15c/mb overrage charge. What is the cap you ask…….
500MB A MONTH.
Now Telstra for Business DSL will give you unmetered 1mbps broadband for………
$1000 US DOLLARS A MONTH and even that is “subject to availability”.
That’s too put it into perspective.
Heh, and Telestra probably also wonders why people are going to Optus and other resellers since their caps are much higher as well I get.
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The Center for Media Research has released a study by Vertical Response that shows just where many of these ‘Main Street’ players are going with their online dollars. The big winners: e-mail and social media. With only 3.8% of small business folks NOT planning on using e-mail marketing and with social media carrying the perception of being free (which they so rudely discover it is far from free) this should make some in the banner and search crowd a little wary.
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