Internode’s Simon Hackett believes that 2010 will see the long-promised arrival of Internet Protocol television (IPTV) through the convergence of on-demand content and fast network access.

“2010 will be the year of IPTV in Australia – at last,” said Mr. Hackett, the founder and managing director of Internode, Australia’s largest privately-owned broadband company.

“Many players are lining up to give Foxtel a run for its money with broadband-based alternatives. Consumers will win due to increased commercial access to legal, on-demand video content in Australia.

“IPTV will be at the forefront of a wave of bandwidth-intensive applications made possible by the elimination of glacial 256k (kilobit per second) plans and the diminishing role of 512k ADSL plans in the market. Most new plans being released to market now offer 1.5 megabits per second (Mb/s) speeds as a minimum, and often deliver full-rate ADSL2+ speeds. There is a new baseline at 1.5 Mb/s developing, and this will strongly underpin IP Television services delivery, for which this is the lowest really viable speed.”

Simon Hackett was one of the pioneers of the Internet in Australia, helping to build the original AARNet network for universities before establishing Internode in 1991. He believes the Internet is entering its fourth major development phase in this country: University-only use in the 1980s was followed by dial-up access in the 1990s and then the establishment of broadband during the “noughties”.

Mr. Hackett said 100 Mb/s fibre-optic Internet access, along with ubiquitous wireless Internet access, would create major changes in both workplaces and homes. “The emergence of the first 100-megabit fibre deployments in greenfield housing estates in 2009 will be complemented by the first 100-megabit Fibre to the Home deployments as an NBN trial in various regions of Tasmania during 2010,” he said.

“Scaling existing houses up from ADSL to fibre will enable high definition, two-way videoconferencing from home environments, allowing what is now a high-end business tool to start changing people’s home lives as well. We'll see wireless broadband deployment become ever more widespread, with 3G Internet access built into more mobile devices. The presumption will be that anything mobile has Internet access lurking in it, all the time.

“Increased ubiquity of Internet access through mobile networks and very high speed access through fixed networks will continue to enhance the Internet as the preferred interaction path for product sales and support for many companies. This won’t replace customer call centres, but allow them to become centres of excellence rather than crowd control exercises.

“The emergence of real video on-demand offerings from a variety of providers will separate multi-service telecommunication companies from single-service Internet, voice, or TV providers. More and more, it'll be about one-stop shopping for a mix of communication and entertainment services.”

Mr. Hackett said Internode would continue to broaden its services base in 2010 from Internet access and fixed voice services into mobile voice and IP Television services. “The opportunity is to leverage our existing great reputation into new areas, while cementing and further developing our support and network service quality,” he said. “While both of these are already at the top of the heap in Australia, there is never room for complacency.

“As the NBN develops from promises and press releases into connected customers, starting in Tasmania mid year, we’ll be able to show our customers just how great our national and international core networks really are. When all service providers can access 100-megabit 'tail circuits', the quality differences between ISPs in the rest of the network connecting you to the world become impossible to hide.

“The largest threat to innovation and competitive improvement in our sector remains the influence of the dominant monopoly telco, Telstra. Significant risks to competitive development exist, should the Government fail to achieve its promised legal reforms of the sector.”

Mr. Hackett added that the greatest success story in personal technology during 2009 was the continued rise and rise of the iPhone. “It truly is the mouse that roared – and continues to do so, ever louder,” he said. “It has created a whole new paradigm for mobile Internet access platforms, and it will influence other mobile devices and their development for decades.”

About Internode www.internode.on.net

Internode is a first tier IP carrier committed to using broadband technology to redefine the national telecommunications environment. The Australian-owned company is a trailblazer that delivers broadband services to individuals and businesses throughout Australia. Follow Internode online at www.internode.on.net/about/follow_us_online/

Internode PR for media assistance: Impress Media Australia www.impress.com.au

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