Thursday, November 11, 2010

Telstra monopoly?

Internode released some new plans recently and it looked like I'd get an extra 5Gb for the same price, but when attempting to sign up for it, the price jumped by another $10. Upon investigation, Internode buried this little gem in their press release:
Due to Telstra pricing that differentiates between exchanges in different areas, Internode has applied a two-tier price structure for its Home-Fast2 broadband plans. The prices for Zone 1 exchanges, where a Telstra competitor has DSLAM equipment installed, are lower than for comparable plans in Zone 2 and 3 exchanges, where Telstra retains a monopoly position.

Did they just specifically state that the price change isn't per region, but whether your exchange has competitors?? How is this not monopoly abuse?