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internet service providers
This
page considers internet service providers (ISPs).
It covers -
A
more detailed discussion
of the development of the ISP industry in Australia and
New Zealand is provided in the Australasian Telecommunications
profile elsewhere on this site..
statistics
Preceding
pages noted that information about telecommunication traffic
(particularly international traffic), revenue and number
of operators is available from clearinghouses such as
the ITU, industry organizations
and regulatory bodies such as the Australian Communications
Authority or US Federal Communications Commission.
That base data, which enables development of more elaborate
measures such teledensity (eg number of mobiles and landlines
per capita), is founded on government regulation of telegraphy
and telephony provision, with government ownership or
licensing of telcos involving provision of a range of
statistical information.
The derivation and shape of today’s ISP industry
means that there is far less certainty about the number
of ISPs, size of their revenue and profitability, and
the number and demographics of their customers. That uncertainty
varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
Licensing in some repressive regimes thus results in accurate
counts of a small number of 'recognised' ISPs (unauthorised
operators on occasion share a cell with drug traffickers,
child molesters and blasphemers). In contrast over the
past five years in Australia there has been disagreement
about the number of ISPs, number of customers and traffic
(with variation of up to 250 in accepted estimates of
the number of ISPs - 800 or merely 550 - and
claims that many leading ISPs wildly inflate their subscriber
numbers).
Uncertainty has been exacerbated by media spin and by
disinformation - or merely recklessly optimistic
projections - from some international operators
such as Global Crossing that sought to sustain the flow
of capital (or merely maintain their share price) during
the dot-com boom.
Some pointers to global traffic are found in the Metrics
& Statistics guide and Australiasian Telecommunications
profile elsewhere
on this site. We will be identifying more detailed industry
figures shortly.
operation
Contrary to images in the mass media, the business of
internet service provision is decidedly unromantic, with
excellence in accounting often being as crucial as wizardry
with code and benefits accruing to enterprises that are
able to take advantage of ‘Chandlerian
scope & scale’ (or merely patence and deep pockets).
The performance of commercial ISPs in Australia and New
Zealand encompasses two equally important activities
-
provision of connectivity
-
managing the money
As
with mobile and fixed line telephone networks
regulation
As
preceding pages of this guide (and items elsewhere on
this site) have suggested, regulation of the ISP industry
and individual ISPs has involved government agencies and
advocacy bodies grappling with three basic issues
The
2004 federal election in Australia for example
studies and resources
Given
the sector's prominence the literature on internet service
provision as an industry - or merely a way of life
- is surprisingly thin. There are few comprehensive
global or national analyses and much of the writing is
inaccessible because it comprises newspaper/magazine articles
rather than discrete works distinguished by both range
and depth.
We can broadly ide
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