There’s a big surprise:
Under the current calculations used Telstra claims to cover 99 per cent of the Australian population, Optus 96 per cent, Vodafone 80 per cent, and Hutchinson (3 Mobile) 60 per cent
The report by telecommunications research Market Clarity says the statistics should be: Telstra 96.33 per cent, Optus 82.65 per cent, Vodafone 50.96 per cent, and Hutchinson 20.58 per cent.
Exaggerations and outright lies by Australian telcos? I cannot believe it.
Meanwhile, explains why between Melbourne and Echuca there’s pretty much no coverage on Vodafone. In 2009.
UPDATE: And Optus is now pulling the contemptible greenwash charging for paper bills bullshit, like Vodafone and Hutchison. $100 million a year, they think they’ll save themselves. This is in addition to their bank-like $15 charge if you pay a bill a day late.
Hooray for competition!
The telcos are just rocketing up the “most detestable entities in the country” register at the moment, aren’t they? Not quite up there with the banks yet, but getting closer by the day.
My latest Telstra Bill is manageable.I think the problem with the service side,isn’t all the Corporations but the government not being on the job.Look at Conroy isn’t he the farce that oversees these things.Then there is the poor down in the mouth unwanted farming lobby.Read the filth from a Myers in the SMH. According to him every farmer feels a compulsory set of thoughts on Toorale Station etc. Then there are townsfolk themselves,like everyone else,acting like consumers of what is presented rather than what maybe possible,if you know some matters are possible with telecommunications. Seeing our political masters are Capitalist roaders then they have a vested interest in,doing exactly what the previous government did, considering competition and consumer laws first and foremost rather than can there be a complete telecommunications coverage that is standardisable for all. We should be making comparisons with poorer areas of India and how Internet traffic is provided.We should be wondering if research on electric power utilities as carriers of Communications was really directed by what could be done rather than a outcome for owners be they private or government.Wether dishes to sattelite or ground based realities were clever enough,rather than clever costing.We will have all sorts of useless infrastructure if say the coal industry dies.As a hobby horse of mine these underground mines are not considered as assets once the minerals are gone..but what of their capacity to have large equipment in them coils for communication requirements..upgrade our space watching and convert present sattelite dishes to Australia’s communication needs!?If we had organizational leaders who will supply the service first pay later, then we would have better communications with more polite bills. I am on a very lonely limb on all these statements..I know no-one could see a old underground or even open cut mine the basic improvement for better telecommunications at lower prices.It is simply comparing land and its use to the technology of communications.And we have plenty of landscapes that can be shaped to improve communication whilst keeping ecology important and productive capacity. Who will understand me! Not the bores of Government.
I wouldn’t mind paying a bill-charge so much if Optus’ on-line system wasn’t a piece o’ crap of the highest order. That’s the problem – there’s no viable alternative.
Bill charging is like tipping: if it’s mandatory, if should be build into the bloody price of the item in the first place. If it’s going to cost me $72/month for this service, then don’t lie to me and advertise it at $70 when I sign the contract.
It’s dishonest, and sneaky, and contemptible and should be prohibited under truth in advertising legislation – and unenforceable.
The Vodafone/Hutchison merger substantially lessens competition. Say goodbye to the days of 3 pressuring the competition with cheaper deals.
In future Australian telcos will ape the behaviour of the gorilla in room, Telstra. The whole point of an oligopoly is to extract maximum cash from the public while treating them with contempt.
Jeremy – How difficult would it be, in your opinion, to make a claim like that to CAV/ACCC or whoever?
I have an issue in having to pay to be issued a paper bill, and I also have an issue with having to pay to pay a bill (ie, credit card surchage, post office charges, etc).
Not difficult at all.
How difficult would it be to get them to push it seriously? Ah, well, that’s a different story.
It’s more an allocation of resources question than a legal one, and I’m not sure how the ACCC would prioritise it.
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And considering that the ACCC are as weak as piss anyway, even if they DID go it nothing would ever happen.
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