Broadband leaders vow to lift image

Australia's broadband industry leaders admit the technology has gained a "bad name" and a poor reputation for performance issues.

But industry heavyweights have vowed to work together to convince the small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) market of the value of high-speed internet connections.

Key players in Australia's ADSL industry banded together in Sydney last week at a forum organised by Telstra Wholesale and the Service Providers' Industry Association (SPAN) to discuss the challenge they face selling DSL to large numbers of Australian businesses.

Phil Sykes, from network operator Request, said DSL needed a reputation overhaul after attracting a bad name for performance issues that had "damaged the industry", although there was an apparent consensus these problems had largely been ironed out.

Another problem was that residential grade ADSL products were "dressed up as business products" he said. "They are oversubscribed - they are always on, but the throughput is terrible," he said.

Other participants included chiefs from fellow DSL operator Nextep, large ISP Pacific Internet, Telstra Wholesale and broadband data provider Flowcom.

News source: News Interactive - Broadband leaders vow to lift image