Broadband wars hot up

Broadband prices are being slashed and plans to roll out mobile broadband networks accelerated as the big telcos struggle for dominance in the broadband market.

Telstra has cut the prices on its existing mobile internet products by almost a third after heavy discounting by Optus, Vodafone and Hutchison. Reasonably priced laptops are proving a great Christmas gift, so the telcos are hoping that cheap wireless broadband prices will benefit also.

Meanwhile Optus has announced it will speed up plans to spend $800 million on a faster mobile broadband network days after Vodafone announced it would spend $500 million to extend its network to 95% of the population by December 2008.