Sunday 13th April 1997
Issues - timed calls for Internet use.See which Senators voted timed calls in. Tell Communications Minister, Senator Alston how you feel about timed calls.
A spokesperson for the group, Mrs Jane Karkadoo, said that "wheeling and dealing" lay behind the decision this month of another claimant group to accept the compensation package.
Century Zinc and ATSIC strenuously deny the accusations.
The deputy chairman of ATSIC "Sugar" Ray Robinson and Century Zinc spokesman Greg Walker said that they refused requests by the recently signed claimants to pay Au$100,000 for 100 days work to two consultants.
The Queensland Premier, Rob Borbridge, hit the nail on the head when he said their withdrawal from the deal showed, "what an absolute sick joke native title is".
A quarter page report on 50 fans rallying over the closure of their tennis centre in Milton got more coverage in today's Sunday Mail (page 18) than the coverage on the Launch of Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party - while a Brisbane tradesman who has taken his employer to court for being sacked for not saying "Good Day" hit the headlines on page one of the same paper with an extensive article on most of page two.....
In all fairness the paper does mention Pauline Hanson in a single column 12 cm article at the bottom of page 6 under the heading... "Media Blitz for Pauline" - sorry I must have missed something here but the blitz certainly wasn't in News Limited's Sunday Mail.....
The launch of Pauline Hanson's One Nation.
Extensive political commentary and links can be found on Palmer's Australian Politics page.
Dear Sir,
Congratulations on your coverage of the Pauline Hansen One Nation launch. Historic though that event may be, I regard it as equally significant that there is a source of information, namely your web page, by which Australians can be informed about it. I salute you. Here's to opening up the closed society.
Regards, Graham Strachan.
Untimed local calls for Internet users to continue
Telstra clarifies Internet misinformation
7 April 1997
Telstra has no plans to introduce compulsory timed local call charges for
Australian Internet users.
Australians enjoy the world’s second lowest Internet access charges, thanks
largely to Telstra’s untimed local calls according to a recent OECD survey,
and that will continue.
Responding to claims by the Internet industry that Telstra would introduce
timed local data calls, Telstra’s Manager, Internet, Mr John Rolland, said
that it was simply not true.
"Telstra has supported and encouraged the development and growth of the
Internet in Australia and we are actively encouraging more Australians to
get on to the Net," Mr Rolland said.
"Some elements within the Internet industry have spread a great deal of
misinformation on this issue. Their campaign has created an enormous level
of concern among ordinary Internet users that they will pay timed local
call rates to dial their ISPs.
"Under the new legislation, residential customers are guaranteed access to
untimed local calls for both voice and data.
"Australians will continue to enjoy the option of untimed local call
rates," he said.
Mr Rolland said that Telstra has always had the power to charge timed local
data call rates for business customers, but has chosen not to do so.
Both the Telecommunications Act (1991) and the new telecommunications
legislation approved by Parliament allow for this provision.
"We have not done it and see no reason to change the situation," he said.
Telstra believes that this provision should be maintained as a safety net,
to protect the interests of ordinary telephone users.
"Telstra’s concern is to protect the integrity of the network for all its
users. This provision allows us to prevent a business customer using the
network in the future in a way that might cause service to others to
deteriorate.
"No-one can be certain what effect future data applications could have on
our network and this is a sensible and prudent precaution to protect
service for all network users.
"A legislative right to untimed data calls for businesses could have
allowed the network to be used in a way it was not designed for. Without
this provision, there would be nothing to stop a business keeping a line
open permanently for whatever reason at a one-off cost of 25cents.
"Telstra believes it would have been inequitable for the cost of
maintaining such a service for some businesses to be met by the broader
community.
"The Industry has confused two quite separate issues here - on the one hand
the prospect of network degradation caused by very long hold business data
calls, and on the other hand how Telstra manages the growth in Internet
traffic.
"While Telstra is not experiencing congestion problems at present, the
current growth in Internet use, if untreated, could cause significant
problems for the network within the next three years.
"In California’s Silicon Valley for example, some callers have reported a
failure to get a dial tone on 30 per cent of call attempts because of
businesses or other people using the Internet. What happens if the call is
an emergency 000 call? Telstra is determined to prevent such occurrences in
Australia, by continuing to monitor network traffic, and to consider
contingency plans if appropriate.
"Fortunately, Telstra’s studies of customer needs indicate that the nature
of internet access demand is changing fundamentally. In essence, there is a
revolution in the demand for quality taking place, as well as demand for
quantity. It is our expectation that as the Internet access market matures,
many Internet users will demand a higher grade of service from their ISP
than that currently available on the PSTN. We are developing a range of
product options, such as Dial Connect, that use dedicated data networks to
provide the higher grade service these users are demanding.
"Internet Service Providers are important and valued Telstra customers. We
are working with ISPs to develop a new range of access products which meet
both their needs and the needs of Internet users. As the market becomes
more sophisticated, and competition among ISPs becomes more intense, users
will demand faster speeds and other value-added services," Mr Rolland said.
"We are confident that in partnership with the industry, we can meet
everyone’s needs, and continue to ensure that Australians’ access to online
communications is second to none" he said.
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