Microsoft NZ steers clear of high-speed net row

By PETER GRIFFIN it writer

Microsoft New Zealand is distancing itself from a spat between its Australian sister company and the Australian Government, but the technology issues at the heart of the dispute are faced by both countries.

Microsoft Australia sparked an indignant response from the country's IT Minister Richard Alston this month when it issued a 50-page lobby paper punching holes in the Australian Government's IT policies and offering advice.

But The Way Forward paper, which was critical of Australia's slow take-up of broadband services, its approach to intellectual property protection, IT skills training and the digital divide, drew widespread support from the IT sector.

In New Zealand, Microsoft's managing director Geoff Lawrie would not comment directly on the Government's IT policies, but a company statement praised initiatives such as the digital opportunities project started by the Government last year and a software agreement between Microsoft and the Ministry of Education that is expected to deliver $10 million worth of software to schools.

But Microsoft had little to say about Government moves to encourage high-speed net use. New Zealand is in 20th place on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development table for broadband penetration (Australia is 16th).

New Zealand's pricing for broadband does not compare favourably with other OECD countries because of the restrictive download caps Telecom puts on its Jetstream high-speed internet service.

Across the Tasman, Microsoft warned the Government to "keep a critical eye" on broadband pricing, particularly from Telstra, and described Australia's high-speed internet subscriber base of around 123,000 as "a pittance given Australia's overall population and given that we are widely viewed as early technology adopters".

Microsoft recommended the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission undertake an independent assessment of broadband pricing and improve competitors' access to Telstra's local loop.

Last week the Australian Government was scrambling to defend itself, describing Microsoft's paper as "confused".

A spokesman for Senator Alston said the onus was on software vendors to develop applications that would stimulate demand for high-speed internet.

"All new technologies are expensive initially, but once you get a killer app, you punch through that.

"You can stream broadband into every single home, but what are people going to use it for?"

Peter Revell, the New Zealand country manager of network software company Novell, said he doubted whether the Government would see its responsibility as doing anything other than creating the right climate for the telcos to make their contribution.

The Way Foward: The Microsoft Australia Perspective(Requires the free Adobe Acrobat Reader)