Optus promised Tassie upgrades in 2008

The telco yesterday announced a $25 million investment in Tasmania, noting over 45 towns, "for the first time", would have a choice between mobile network providers - they earlier only had access to the infrastructure of Telstra. But, a number of towns listed as receiving Optus mobile coverage - Bridport, Queenstown, Scottsdale, St Helens, St Mary's and Zeehan - were as well listed in a similarly worded 2008 media release, which announced a nationwide investment of $315 million.

"With this significant expansion we will be the only mobile carrier capable of challenging the incumbent's network reach in Tasmania," the telco's Networks managing director Gunther Ottendorfer said this week in Optus statement. And in 2008, Optus chief executive Paul O'Sullivan had similar sentiments: "With this significant expansion we will be the only mobile carrier capable of challenging the incumbent's network reach."

However, in spite of the re-run of the 2008 announcement, some Tasmanians are for all that positive about the growing amount of telecommunications competition in the state. Vodafone is believed to be running a distant third in terms of the number of base stations it owns in the Apple Isle, nevertheless Optus is by degree catching up to Telstra.

Andrew Connor, a spokesperson for innovation advocacy group Digital Tasmania, said to all intents and purposes many of the Optus sites announced this week had already been rolled out over the past couple of years, with the remainder to flow forthwith. "It's a massive win for consumers, especially those who have had no choice," he said.

The town of Scottsdale

In the town of Scottsdale, Connor pointed out, only a short during ago residents and businesses had only had access to Telstra mobile coverage and Telstra fixed line broadband based on its copper network. Now it would have both Optus mobile coverage and National Broadband Network fibre.

Government incentives and pent-up demand following the global financial crisis helped the Australian video conferencing market to increase earnings by 33 per cent in 2010.