Australia’s information roundabout

Well, I'm back – and even more bitter than before, thanks to the debacle it's been to have our Internet connected.

After faffing about in a fruitless attempt to decipher the phone companies' incomprehensible Internet plans (and I'm kind of tech-savvy – a computer-illiterate person would give up in seconds), we finally went with Dodo, who, I've decided, ought to be as extinct as their moniker.

Earlier this week, we signed up to their extortionate wireless service ($45 for just six gigabytes per month – and that's only because we signed a 24-month contract; it would have otherwise been a paltry three gigs). Today, I awoke (at 9:30 – hey, I'm unemployed!) to the sound of the courier buzzing the intercom: our modem had arrived!

Having been Internet-less for over a week (I'd started getting the shakes), I excitedly tore open the package to see some pathetic little USB stick and a cable; we'd been given a "mobile wireless pack", rather than the Wifi modem we wanted. Consequently, just one of us can use the Internet at a time, and to do so, we need to connect the USB, do a bunch of clicking and enter our password. Even compared to our occasionally-reliable service in Alberta, this has been pathetic.

I spent hours on the phone to Dodo this morning trying to set it straight that this wasn't what I wanted, but with no luck. In fact, I was told that the contract stands and the fact that a mobile wireless modem wasn't what I asked for "isn't reason enough to cancel a contract". Unbelievable.

I'm floored at a) how much Australia's phone companies get away with; and b) how far behind the rest of the world we are in this area. In Canada, we parted with about $20 a month for way more than this; plus, we didn't have to fork out for the modem as well. And there was no contract.

Australia's information superhighway is like one big roundabout. With the amount of companies vying for business, you'd think the competition would drive prices way down. But, no.

Similarly, in the Web 2.0 age of extensive social networking on Facebook, video-calling on Skype and streaming clips from YouTube among an increasing amount of online activity, why are Australia's Internet companies seemingly making zero progress? The industry seems to be going in ever-decreasing circles, driving around a bewildered public, herding us up like helpless lambs to the slaughter.

If I sound frustrated, I am: mind you, if I'd have written about this earlier today, the cyber-air would have been blue. Though I probably would have been charged extra for swearing.