Internet Society of Australia
A Chapter of the Internet Society
ABN 36 076 406 801
NEWS RELEASE Internet Society of Australia (ISOC-AU) 2000/04 The Internet is for Everyone! 4 July 2001 ISOC-AU WELCOMES BROADBAND XCHANGE INITIATIVE The Internet Society of Australia today welcomed establishment of the Broadband Xchange industry forum to progress delivery of high speed Internet services. 'Action on delivery of broadband Internet is badly needed because Australia is slipping behind other countries as the Internet is establishing itself as an essential service for business', said Mr Tony Hill, Executive Director of ISOC-AU. 'Already 60% of Korean Internet connections use broadband and Canada has a coast to coast gigabit network that is one million times faster than normal domestic connections in Australia. 'More than one year ago, ISOC-AU warned that insufficient bandwidth was limiting access to new Internet services in its submission to the national broadband inquiry. 'We are very concerned that provision of high bandwidth should not delay development of the Internet in Australia, particularly in providing services to small business and home users. 'The Napster music sharing program has demonstrated how quickly broadband type services can gain adoption in the right circumstances. 'The current speed of Internet connections is reducing business performance and frustrating private users while they wait for slow download of web information or transmission of family photos and sound recordings. 'Some key initiatives have provided significant steps forward in increasing access to high bandwidth availability including Telstra's ADSL service and the TransACT dedicated data network. Even so, more needs to be done. 'However current broadband services often do not allow for symmetric connection of bandwidth, providing lower speed to upload than to download. They also have other rules that tend to discourage users from 'publishing' information to the Internet by running their own Internet servers. 'With the formation of this new group, involving so many industry players, ISOC-AU will be looking for substantial action on implementation of effective broadband Internet access. ISOC-AU congratulated the Service Providers Industry Association, SPAN, for its recognition of the challenges and for its initiative in forming the Broadband Xchange. This forum shows recognition that infrastructure, service and content providers need to work together to build Australia's broadband capability in a sustainable way. ISOC-AU also welcomed recent Federal Government initiatives aimed at fostering development of advanced Internet technology, such as the Advanced Networking program, and looked for the government to provide leadership and vision in future development of services. Contact: Mr Tony Hill, 0412 128 755, ed@isoc-au.org.au