Telecommunications prices in Australia - the last twenty years

The late 1980s saw a transformation of telecommunications in Australia with the introduction of limited competition. In 1997 the market was fully opened to competition. It was hoped on both these occasions that competition would lead to low prices and a wide range of services. The resulting picture has been mixed. Prices have fallen significantly but Australia is not at the forefront of low international prices. However, there are a number of reasons for this and it is unrealistic to expect very low prices. Australian consumers and businesses have benefitted greatly from the large reductions in prices that have occurred and price reductions are undoubtedly a key reason for the growing importance of telecommunications in household and business budgets and our lives generally over the past twenty years.