Computer Solutions in the greater brisbane area.
Optus Debacle Washup
While I joined in the condemnation over this weeks state wide Optus communications blackout, research and review of the situation, along with populist sound bites from our leaders in politics lead me to temper somewhat my outrage over the whole ordeal.
Some online forums were dotted with posts proclaiming Telstra’s virtues (along with some other carriers, but it was mostly Telstra fanboys), but one would have to be quick to point out that Telstra have had their fare share of large scale debacles;
It’s also worth noting that while it certainly was a massive problem for Queenslanders, the Optus debacle was not a fault of Optus’ network; You can’t blame them because some ninny digs up their fibre.
That being said, I think it is worth having your telecoms eggs in multiple baskets, and I am a firm believer that you can get a better deal that way, rather than giving your soul to Optus or Telstra. Here, for example, we have Internode for our internet connection, AAPT for our landline phones, SIPME for our VOIP connection, and Optus for our Mobiles. Any one of these carriers having a problem does not shut us down, and the same cannot be said for those with only one provider.
I’d also point out that I save a heap of money; While Telstra in particular entice you with percentage off deals for bundling all your services, their high rack rate for those services leave you paying more in most situations.
Finally, if Anna Bligh is serious about protecting the interests of Queenslanders, she would fund a new fibre optic link to Sydney that travels a path unused by any existing infrastructure, and give all carriers who want it access to the cable. That way everyone would have a fall back option if armageddon strikes again (which to be honest, is more likely that you would think).
