Earlier this week, Singaporean telco MyRepublic announced plans to launch services in Australia by mid-2016 as a rival to the NBN. Co-founder Malcolm Rodrigues heavily criticised the NBN suggesting the government had “completely stuffed it”.
Telstra’s outgoing chief executive David Thodey labelled tier-three disruptors including MyRepublic as the biggest threat to the company, more so than TPG or Optus.
MyRepublic currently provides services in Singapore, Indonesia and New Zealand with a 100Mbps unlimited plan being sold at $79.99 per month to our Kiwi neighbours. “We’re going to come in with an unlimited 100 megabit per second offer at the $80-$90 per month range.” said Mr Rodrigues
Mr Rodrigues believes that Australia will fall behind as a nation if, by 2020, 50Mbps is used as the national internet benchmark. “More and more Australians will leave the country looking for jobs and you’ll continue to be a resource based economy – the hope of building IT jobs and a digital economy will kind of be more difficult to achieve,” he said.
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Opinion: Competition good for consumers
MyRepublic co-founder Malcolm Rodrigues didn’t hold back his critical opinion of the internet landscape in Australia. He pointed out the short-comings of the NBN and current broadband providers, stating that MyRepublic would be entering the Australian market with competitive plans far below the current rates offered by the current telco (or providers).
Unlike companies that have in the past promised the world and failed to deliver, MyRepublic has already proven itself with successful launches in Indonesia and New Zealand in recent years that deliver low-cost, unlimited 100Mbps plans. Executives at TPG, iiNet, Telstra, Optus and even the NBN should be worried as the entry of MyRepublic into the Australian internet market next year promises a huge shake-up in the price of internet access.
It’s been several years since a major player entered the internet market in Australia and there can only ever be positive outcomes for the consumer when competition increases. Based on the overseas pricing of MyRepublic and the recent statements by Mr Rodrigues, I wouldn’t be surprised if Australian internet prices dropped by 10–15 per cent as current providers strive to remain competitive.
What do you think? Will you consider moving your internet plan to MyRepublic once services launch in Australia? Have you looked around for a better internet deal recently? Do you agree with Malcolm Rodrigues that Australia will suffer with an internet benchmark speed of only 50 Mbps?
