Next G another blow to broadband satellite services
The announcement by the Government that Optus 3G now qualifies as a metro-comparable broadband service has eroded the addressable market for satellite service providers tapping into Australian Broadband Guarantee funding. Now they could soon be facing competition from Next G which claims coverage of 99 percent of the population.
The Australian Broadband Guarantee provides subsidies to people who are unable to get broadband services that are ‘metro-comparable’ in both price and speed. For the most remote residents the only viable service has been satellite and a number of service providers have made good business providing these subsidised services.
However the Government announced last week that Optus 3G was now a ‘metro-comparable’ service. Optus is upgrading its network to HSPA and told iTWire in September that it was on track to have 98 percent coverage by the end of 2008.
Telstra’s Next G service does not qualify as metro-comparable because it is too costly. However Telstra has lodged an application to be a provider under the Australian Broadband Guarantee. With Telstra claiming Next G coverage of 99 percent of the population this would likely mean that people living in remote Australia would have a choice between Next G and satellite for the subsidised broadband service.
The subsidised service does not have to be mobile, so Telstra can use high gain antennae to extend reach of the service. Telstra Country Wide group general manger, Geoff Booth said in December 2008 :”Telstra has a proposal now before Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy for the Australian Broadband Guarantee program to offer subsidised access to fixed wireless broadband using its world-leading Next G network combined with high-grade Yagi antenna.
“This solution would use Australia’s largest and fastest national wireless broadband network, which covers 99 per cent of the population, to provide quality broadband at prices that are comparable to ADSL broadband in the cities today.
“As soon as we get the go-ahead we are ready to roll out this tremendous product to people in rural and remote areas who are crying out for better broadband.”
With this application, Telstra is not seeking to have Next G classified as metro comparable, and the installation of these antenna would bump up the cost of the service beyond that of Next G. However as its prices stand today, if Telstra were to offer a 3G per month plan it would probably be close to meeting metro-comparable requirements.
The ABG scheme presently defines metro-comparable as “s a service offering peak data speeds of at least 512/128 kbps and a price of not more than $2500 over three years, including equipment, installation, monthly fees and travel costs.” Under enhancements to the program which commenced on 4 August 2008, the minimum monthly usage allowance was increased to 3 GB per month.
Telstra presently offer Next G wireless broadband on three year contracts at $59.95 per month for 1Gbyte and $89.95 per month for 5Gbyte. These prices equate to $2158 and $3238 over three years.
