Unlimited and terabyte plans in little demand: iiNet
Whether it be a terabyte per month, or a totally unlimited plan, Australian consumers appear to be steering clear of large bandwidth plans.
Speaking in a Reddit ask me anything thread, Steve Dalby, chief regulatory officer of Australia's second largest fixed ISP, iiNet, said that the company had not seen demand for its 1TB for AU$90 per month offering.
"iiNet already offer a 1TB plan and less than 5 percent of our customers have signed up for it," he said. "If the demand increases and costs keep falling, we'll keep reviewing our plans and consider offering more quota. We also have an unlimited plan via our JIVA brand. Very few subscribed to that either."
Dalby bemoaned the state of NBN debate in the country, saying the discussion lacked leadership and neither of the major parties seemed to know why the NBN is important.
"The only schoolyard conversation is along the lines of 'you stink', 'no you stink more', rather than focusing on job creation, export opportunities, regional development, industry development, social dividends (education, health, etc)," he said.
"It would be really excellent if Cabinet saw it as an enabler for economic growth, rather than a cost that had to be cut."
Talking about the company's simmering feud with movie studios, Dalby issued a blunt warning to Hollywood that it needed to move with the times, or face the consequences.
"Adapt or die, dudes, it's the internet," Dalby said. "These guys are not isolated, think Australia Post; free to air TV; bricks and mortar retail; airlines; film photography; bookstores."
"The demise of Blockbuster is indicative of failure to adapt to change."
As the Commonwealth Government secretly negotiates the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and goes through the process of final sign off on its Korean, and Japanese free trade agreements — all three of which have the potential to impact copyright laws in Australia — Dalby struck out at the methods of arriving at such deals.
"It's a crappy way to act in the best interests of your country," he said. "TPP — As a general principle, negotiating secret trade agreements that impact on industry, and the general public is not a good look. I don't like it or support it."
"If these faceless negotiators were acting in our interests, we wouldn't end up with more surveillance, less rights and reduced control over our economic activity ... Would we ?"