Telecommunication brings the world closer together   Australians enjoy easy access to communications both domestically as well as globally. Despite our location ‘down under’, Australians are never out of touch. This is facilitated by a sophisticated network of copper, wireless, cable, fibre optics and satellite systems. Always fast to adopt and introduce new technology, Australia has one of the highest standards of communications in the world.   National Broadband Network The Federal government along with private enterprise will build a National Broadband Network by investing up to $43 billion over eight years delivering superfast optical fibre broadband, with download speeds of 100 megabits per second, to homes and workplaces. The initial work will entail a detailed study to give a breakdown of the company’s operating arrangements, detailed network design and ways to attract private sector investment. To get things rolling construction and rollout has commenced in Tasmania and the first 10 communities to receive superfast broadband have been announced and rollout of almost 6000 km of new fibre optic backbone links, in the Regional Backbone Blackspots Program to connect more than 100 regional locations along the routes to six priority areas The National Broadband Network will support 25,000 jobs every year, on average, over the life of the project and at its peak create 37,000 jobs.   Telstra At the heart of everyday life for most Australians is Telstra. With 9.6 million fixed line services, 9.2 million mobile services and over 3 million internet services, Telstra is Australia’s leading full-service telecommunications and information services company, and is considered a trusted and reliable communications provider.   Telstra also owns and operates approximately 25,000 payphones across Australia. Telstra’s main activities include the provision of: n     Telephone line services for home and business use n     Local and long distance telephone call services n     Mobile telecommunications services n     Broadband access and content offerings n     Advertising, search and information services through Sensis, Australia’s leading directory and search company n     Phone directories (White Pages® & Yellow™) n     Cable subscription television services   In an age of globalisation where the world is fast becoming everyone’s backyard, distance is no longer a barrier for interpersonal connections. Considering Australia’s land mass is a massive 7,692,030 km², 32 times larger than the United Kingdom, a solid and reliable communications link is a vital tool for modern Australian families and businesses. With coverage of up to 99 per cent of the Australian population, Telstra’s Next G™ network offers national high-speed mobile and wireless internet access to residential and business customers living almost anywhere in Australia.   Telstra’s Next G™ network provides services such as: n     Video call technology n     Superior mobile coverage, including in-building coverage n     Access to mobile broadband n     Live and on-demand BigPond content n     Global roaming   Australia – a Multicultural Society Australia is a multicultural society with statistics showing that up to 5 million Australians were born overseas. In addition, the rate of migrant arrivals in Australia is also increasing rapidly. These factors contribute to the significant number of Australians with Non-English Speaking Backgrounds (NESB) whose needs are met by Telstra’s multilingual customer service centre.   Commander Commander is Australia’s leading provider of business telephone systems and has been tailoring communication solutions to the needs of small and medium businesses for over twenty years. Every day, over one million people use a Commander product or service to do business and today it supports more than 125,000 Australian organisations.   The Company began with office telephone systems and has broadened its expertise to all forms of business communications. Commander can now help customers sort out their computer systems, maintain their network, harness the potential of the Internet and host their Web site safely and securely.   Commander partners with some of the world’s leading technology companies – such as Nortel Networks, Siemens, Lake Communications and 3Com – to provide world class communications products to Australian businesses under the Commander brand.   Cable & Wireless Optus Optus serves more than five million customers across Australia. The company provides a broad range of communications services including mobile, local national and long distance telephony, business network services, internet satellite and pay television.   Optus is divided into three major business areas – Mobile; Data & Business Services; and Consumer & Multimedia.   Since commencing operations in 1992, Optus has invested more than $7bn in the construction of fixed, mobile and satellite networks, including central business district, suburban local access networks, optic fibre, national trunk, Hybrid Fibre Coaxial and international undersea cables.   These networks provide the company with an advanced technology platform capable of delivering cutting-edge communications, information and entertainment.   Their Mobile division has captured around one third of the total Australian GSM mobile market and leads the market in mobile data take up. Optus also holds a national 3G licence and is working in partnership with Nokia developing the next generation in mobile data technology.   Virgin Mobile Launching into the Australian market in October 2000, Virgin Mobile’s declared mission is to right the wrongs of the mobile phone industry and provide a simple and fair deal that offers freedom, flexibility and value for money without compromising on quality of service.   Virgin Mobile, a joint venture between Cable & Wireless Optus and The Virgin Group, is the first Virtual Mobile Network Operator (VMNO) in Australia. VMNO model means Virgin Mobile uses the backbone network infrastructure of Optus, but has it’s own billing system, prepaid platform and value added services. Without the high costs of maintaining a network, Virgin Mobile can provide competitive pricing.   Virgin Mobile don’t offer lengthy fixed term contracts. This makes them different to some other carriers, whose contracts may run for up to three years. They do not offer a range of different plans to choose from, just one simple rate that gets lower the more you use your phone. Call rates are very competitive and they are billed by the second, rather than in units of full or half minutes.   Vodafone Vodafone offers innovative business solutions that help manage all voice, fax, data and e-mail with ease. They also provide unique services like 1-2-3 personal assistance that helps make life more satisfying and fun with flexible tariff plans with one second billing and your choice of free calls.   Vodafone provides mobile digital services of the highest quality, giving you maximum coverage with fewer drop-outs. Their GSM service now covers up to 92% of the Australian population and is still growing.   If you live or work in remote areas, Vodafone Globalstar keeps you in touch with 100% coverage across Australia and up to 200 nautical miles from the mainland and Tasmania. In the deregulated market that is Australia’s telecom-munications scene today, competition is the rule, resulting in a better and more economical service for users.