WE COULD LOOSE INTERNET - STAND FAST
edw...@dove.mtx.net.au
Fellow User - Greetings,
April 5, 1997.
If you have not already heard of or seen articles regarding the passing
by Federal Parliament of a bill that will now allow Telstra to
instigate, at their whim - "TIMED DATA CALLS" I urge you to take a look
at the following message I have included here. READ IT CAREFULLY and
then judge for yourself as to what the implications & world wide
ramifications to Australia can be forthcoming from such a move.
If you care to take the time to have a look at the either of the
following sites you will find the complete message and have the option
to SIGN the petition that appears there. I would urge you to sign that
petition as by this means at least we can inform our Federal Government
of our utter dislike to such a anti-democratic right to the Australian
public and in particular to us as users of the Internet.
The sites are: http://www.ozlink.net/ or http://www.ruralnet.net.au
Here below is an abbreviated extract of that message:
BEGIN QUOTE:
SAVE THE AUSTRALIAN INTERNET
On March 25, 1997, the Australian Parliament passed legislation that
threatens to shut down the Internet in Australia. The Telecommunications
Bill opens the way for Telstra to charge for timed data calls. As the
source of connectivity for hundreds of ISP's in Australia, this will
allow Telstra to strangle Australia's ISP industry by raising their
charges. In turn, these charges will be passed on to the consumer. Using
the Internet through today's ISP's will become so expensive that very
few people will be able to afford it. Companies will lose their clients
and go out of business. Gradually, Telstra will take over Australia's
ISP community, and the age of affordable Internet access will end.
As Ramin Marzbani, Principal of www.consult, Australia's leading
Internet analysts, remarked, "Telstra are very smart and well-prepared.
The ISPs don't have a chance"
.
How can this happen?
The Telecommunications Bill allows for the provision of timed local data
calls for businesses. In the weeks leading up to the passage of the
bill, Communications Minister Senator Richard Alston attempted to quell
debate on this issue by stating that residential customers would
continue to have access to untimed data calls. This is an act of
deception. While the originator of a data call could be immune from
direct time charges, the recipient, namely the ISP, will not. The ISP
will be billed for the time a user connects, and will then add these
charges to their bill. Consumers already pay enough for Internet access
alone. Adding time charges will increase the overall cost of accessing
the Internet to unacceptable levels.
What will happen to the Internet?
The introduction of timed data calls is a calculated move that is
designed to increase the profits of Telstra at the expense of the rest
of the nation. This will improve Telstra's attractiveness to its
investors, who are likely to be foreign-owned telecommunications
companies.
At a time when Australia is suffering from high unemployment and
stagnation in our industries, the federal government has struck a blow
at one of the fastest growing industries in Australia.
Australia is one of the heaviest users of the Internet in the world.
There are more than 470 Internet Service Providers. The industry
directly employs 14,000 people and indirectly employs 60,000.
Furthermore, it helps businesses with their commercial communications.
Thousands of people use the Internet as a means of overcoming
disabilities, medical problems or alienation due to beliefs or
lifestyles. Internet users in rural communities and isolated properties
will also suffer.
The Internet also saves on the use of paper, making it an
environmentally friendly method of communications. This, and other
benefits, will all be lost as the Internet becomes un-affordable.
As Anne Davies wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald (27th March 1997):
"The 470 Internet Service Providers have been outraged by the
Government's decision to allow timed data calls for business, claiming
that Telstra will use the new freedom to put them out of business.
Telstra competes with Internet Service Providers directly through its
Big Pond product.
However, it is unlikely that Senator Alston's guarantee will placate the
ISP industry."
What can we do about this?
The federal government has made a serious mistake by not only attacking
an essential service, but interfering with the lives of the more than
one million Australians who use the Internet. Our numbers are
significant, and the sheer size of the Internet community has the
potential to influence the electoral process.
Firstly, discuss your concerns with your friends, family and workmates.
Write a letter to a newspaper. Make a call on talkback radio. Contact
any media outlets you choose and ask them to prepare a story on this
matter. Place a link to this page on any Web pages you control.
Secondly, please sign our Petition
Contact your local Member of Parliament and the Senators for your home
state. Let them know how you feel about this, and remind them that you
vote.
END QUOTE:
I trust you are as annoyed and infuriated as myself in such underhanded
methods that have been instigated by Telstra and the Federal Government.
Also give thought to the phenominal profits that Telstra make AFTER TAX,
its in the millions of dollars bracket.
DO WE REALLY LIVE IN AND HAVE A DEMOCRACY - LOOK AT THE MAL COLSTON
AFFAIR OF LATE - WHAT A FARCE POLITICS HAS BECOME!
PLEASE DISTRIBUTE THIS FAR AND WIDE - LET OUR VOICES BE HEARD
Signed by: Eric E. Whitworth Adelaide Sth. Australia. Comments
welcomed in newsgroup or by E-Mail (edw...@dove.mtx.net.au
Alan Palmer
[newsgroups trimmed]
edw...@dove.mtx.net.au wrote:
>
> Fellow User - Greetings,
>
> April 5, 1997.
>
> If you have not already heard of or seen articles regarding the passing
> by Federal Parliament of a bill that will now allow Telstra to
> instigate, at their whim - "TIMED DATA CALLS" I urge you to take a look
> at the following message I have included here. READ IT CAREFULLY and
> then judge for yourself as to what the implications & world wide
> ramifications to Australia can be forthcoming from such a move.
> ...
>
> On March 25, 1997, the Australian Parliament passed legislation that
> threatens to shut down the Internet in Australia. The Telecommunications
> Bill opens the way for Telstra to charge for timed data calls. As the
> source of connectivity for hundreds of ISP's in Australia, this will
> allow Telstra to strangle Australia's ISP industry by raising their
> charges. In turn, these charges will be passed on to the consumer. Using
> the Internet through today's ISP's will become so expensive that very
> few people will be able to afford it. Companies will lose their clients
> and go out of business. Gradually, Telstra will take over Australia's
> ISP community, and the age of affordable Internet access will end.
>
> As Ramin Marzbani, Principal of www.consult, Australia's leading
> Internet analysts, remarked, "Telstra are very smart and well-prepared.
> The ISPs don't have a chance"
I believe this will happen, unless the user community exercises
political muscle.
Until now, I've been sceptical of the anti-Telstra "paranoia", for lack
of
a better term. But now I think a "paranoid" stance is the correct one to
take.
What changed my mind was a recent demonstration of some advanced ATM,
ISDN, and ADSL equipment, held by a large telecomms manufacturer
(I'd rather not say which one). At the demo, the sales executive let
slip
something that chilled me: Telstra is determined to take over the ISP
business, one way or another.
The slip was genuine - the way the exec himeself reacted made it clear
that he had blundered by mentioning it. And the casual way he said it
before he caught himself, the way people do when they let slip what they
really think - *that* was what chilled me.
So I believe it comes down to this: you are either in favour of Telstra
or else you are in favour of low-cost, fairly priced telecommunications
and Internet access. We all have a choice to make.
And doing nothing to protect our own interests, letting Telstra and
Alston act unchecked in *their* own interests - that's a choice too.
Alan