the game is up, page-10

re: accc smashes tls overcharging plan. I remeber when sliced bread came out. And then, in the late 1980's Telecom changed a few policies.

One was its maintenance practices. They stopped routinely servicing the switching equipment because it was said to bring greater reliability. Just leave it until it failed. Then disconnect and fix/service it.

Another was to abandon the ages old policy of not introducing new facilites/services (for the subscriber) until it could be provided universally, nation wide. Wow, wasn't tone dialling fantastic. Press button phones! Even when not everyone's exchange could provide it. Even though, years earlier tone dialling was possible when they ugraded from the 1940's step by step to the 1960's Crossbar exchanges. A lot of people complained that they couldn't have tone dialling when their neighbours had it.

Then, they had the gall to treat Business subscribers differently to residential subscribers! And they reorganised Telecom to do just that. No longer was a business customer to wait exactly as long as a residential customer for a new phone. A new phone? What do these people think? That we are going to forego going to the pub for lunch just to install their phone?

And wasn't it fun having a policy that telecom never admits having faults in the metering system. Look what happens when a radar speed trap can be proved to sometimes be at fault.

All those Towards 2000 lectures. The customer comes first. And when the mad/disgruntled axe man (employee) closed down the Sydney CBD by chopping into the city's underground cables, they got all serious suddenly about everyone having to have an ID. Again, in the 1980's.

Then, by 1990 the digitisation of exchanges was ahead of schedule because the cost of digital exchanges had fallen since they had budgetted years earlier. More exhchanges could be upgraded for the same $$.

So they went from one big happy company that wrote the theme tune, sang the theme tune, and generally sat on a big chair swinging its feet. And things seemed so distorted. And country customers only wanted 3 things. A phone. A phone that works. And a phone that always works.

It was a place where, like Yes Minister, the Technicians ran the place and the Engineers administered it, and both scratch eachother's back. Or argued. And sympathised with each other over pay increases.

And now, 30% still think they are public servants! How interesting.

Still, I fully expect my trainee teacher will be proved right. He suggested jokingly as we trainees were on an excursion walking around north sydney, as he pointed to a a junction pit in the footpath. "one day an entire exchange will fit into that pit"........Well, maybe not quite.

And if it was still the good old bad old days, a GigaByte of internet data would cost the same wherever you bought it. Ok, maybe 30% variation. Because nothing makes sense for it to days vary from $3 to $300.

It was the same with light bulbs. For decades the scam was perpetrated. A 100W bulb cost much more than a 60W because it was obvious more POWERFUL. And that's a powerful arguement. And it was simple!

These days, the powerful arguement, the offer you can't refuse, the only offer around, has been thrown out with the bath water. (a meaningless figure of speach as well). Instead, we now have extreme complexity because they have given us what we deserve. The ability to chose between competing telcos. And the ability to be able to work out the best deal.

And now I can’t wait for Telcos to become extremely different from one another. With say 6 levels of phone call clarity? 5 ways of viewing pay TV over the Internet? And paying for any number of services that promise to simplify using the your phone to dial someone via the cheapest service for that time of day.

And all I want is a 512KB internet service for $2 per month unlimited downloads. With a virtually free VoIP phone so I can call anyone for 10 cents untimed. And a system where I can use the internet to change Telcos whenever I WANT TO. Without having to talk to either a human or computer simulated human, and to do it for FREE.

Because after CHOICE, the next revolution in Telecommunications will be FREEDOM. FEREEDOM from the burden of CHOICE.