Major Australian ISP Pulls OpenOffice

Now this is just plain bizarre:

Major Australian ISP Pulls OpenOffice - thefickler writes "Australia's largest Internet service provider Telstra BigPond has removed OpenOffice from its unmetered file download area following the launch of its own, free, hosted, office application, BigPond Office. The removal of OpenOffice was brought to TECH.BLORGE's attention by a reader, who complained to Telstra BigPond's support department about no longer being able to download OpenOffice updates. The support people were quite open about why OpenOffice was no longer available, i.e. because it was perceived to be competitive with BigPond Office."

Bigpond has always been an ISP well worth not using (in fact, it's the only one i disrecommend based on personal experience), due to their unreliable mail services and poor technical support. This just reinforces the point - they are a company that doesn't care about their customers. I agree with the original article in that i don't think Telstra is being unethical by choosing not to provide a certain service - they are simply doing what they think is best for their commercial interests. However, what is best for the company is not always best for the consumer, and this is a definite case in point. Bigpond appears to be trying to create another AOL - and we all know how successful that was...

If you are currently considering getting broadband or switching providers, i urge you to choose an ISP who does not discriminate against FLOSS, like Internode, iiNet, or Netspace. Or check for plans with other ISPs that also offer better value than Bigpond at Broadband Choice.

And for more fodder, check out this news at Whirlpool. James Purser's view that Telstra needs to be split into network and retail entities and the network bought back by the Commonwealth Government is looking more sensible all the time.