I remember when Australia was connected to the Internet with a 56K line. Of course at that time MRNet (Minnesota’s biggest Internet provider at the time) was connected to the backbone with a T3. But it seems as if Australia is on track to leave Minnesota in the cyber dust.

The Australian government is geared to invest US$4.4 billion in a national fiber-optic network, to be built in partnership with the private sector. Even better – the government’s preference is to work with an open access provider or wholesaler that is separate from a retail provider.

Right now Telstra is the country’s largest retailer and wholesaler. And Telstra is kind of pegged as the provider for the new network. But the government might insist or at least encourage Telstra to divide itself based on operation (whole versus retail broadband service). This has been a successful approach in other areas such as New Zealand and Europe.