On 02/05/2007, at 11:27 PM, Mike MOORE wrote:
I complained and this was the reply I received:
Thank you for your email dated 08 Apr
The problem you have described is a known issue and has recently
been escalated to our level 2 support group. Our technicians will
investigate the issue and take appropriate action to resolve the
problem.
However, we have tested the site thru Fire Fox, which loads the
data normally. You may wish to try accessing AFL.com.au thru Fire
Fox. Please note that Fire Fox is not Supported. This information
is provided as a courtesy only.
Once again, our sincere apologies and please let us know if you
are having further problems.
Nothing has happened (surprise, surprise) The only way we are
likely to get it fixed is to complain direct to the AFL commission.
Hi WAMUG people,
Back in 2002 a lot of people (including me) wrote letters to the ACCC
& the AFL Commission re Telstra's exclusive agreement with the AFL. I
had a Paid Subscription to view multimedia content, replays etc. and
then found I could not continue unless I became a BigPond ADSL customer.
http://www.katelundy.com.au/April2002.htm
I've included below a letter that Galen Parker wrote to Senator
Lundy, and below his letter is the ACCC Response:
Quoted Letters:
Good Afternoon Senator Lundy,
My name is Galen Parker, and I am emailing in a desperate attempt to
seek information on what types of action I as a regular West
Australian guy can take against Telstra’s exclusive multimedia
content on the internet.
I am a fanatical AFL fan, who frequents the website of my club, the
West Coast Eagles, and the main AFL website (afl.com.au) to get news
and information about the game I love. I may frequent these sites
perhaps 5-10 times a day to get the very latest reports.
In previous years I have happily paid an AFL.COM.AU subscription to
view multimedia content, match replays, audio media releases and
other content that broadband internet can provide these days!
I am a software developer by profession, and thus a heavy internet
user. I have cutting edge technology which includes a 1.5Mbit ADSL
connection and happily subscribe to a local West Australian owned
ISP, iiNET, who I feel have GREAT service and the best product range.
When my subscription to afl.com.au expired in 2004 I was amazed to
find I could not renew my subscription due to the new AFL Exclusivity
deal with Telstra. I could not believe the ONLY options I had were to
either leave the country, (because the multimedia content is allowed
to be viewed by international subscribers) OR join a far inferior
ISP… Telstra Bigpond.
Of the above options, moving out of the country is more feasible due
to the heavy requirements on internet usage in my profession, and
Telstra being FAR inferior in product range, service and pricing. Is
this fair for a company to twist the arms of consumers to purchase
inferior services?
I have attempted to contact the AFL and Telstra on this issue to no
avail. I emailed a senior person at the West Coast eagles asking what
they feel about the situation and was refreshed to find out that due
to sponsorship deals with competitors like Optus the Eagles were not
happy at all with the deal.
The new AFL 2005 season is about to start and still there is no
options or progress on this appalling situation. The ‘new look’
afl.com.au website is branded with Telstra advertising, promotions
and marketing. All contacts on the site go to Telstra and not the
AFL, so it’s a very frustrating situation because I do not know what
I can do to voice my concerns
This article from 2002 has been the reason I decided to contact you
for information.
http://whirlpool.net.au/article.cfm?id=939&show=all
Kind Regards
Galen Parker
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The ACCC Response:
Telstra has an exclusive agreement with the AFL to manage the AFL
website and to provide video streaming of premium content, such as
coverage of AFL matches. Until recently, this premium content was
available on a subscription basis irrespective of which ISP provided
internet services to the particular subscriber.
The ACCC is aware that Telstra has recently restricted access to this
premium AFL content to BigPond subscribers. Overseas subscribers will
continue to be able to access the premium content on a subscription
basis even though they obtain internet access through an ISP other
than BigPond.
The ACCC has held discussions with Telstra and the AFL in relation to
this exclusive arrangement. On close examination of the
circumstances, the ACCC is of the view that Telstra and the AFL are
entitled to enter into their exclusive arrangement and that Telstra's
requirement that subscribers obtain internet access services from
BigPond is not likely to constitute a breach of the TPA.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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End of Quoted letters.
As you can see, nothing has changed since 2002!!
Cheers,
Ronni
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