Broadband To Leapfrog Australia To Head Of The Tech Pack?

I’m writing this from my Sydney home, being back in the country for a few weeks over the summer. My wireless is running on iinet, which draws from the Telstra backbone and despite support calls it’s as patchy and slow as can be. I am comparing this to the speeds I get back in Silicon Valley, of course, and by no means would I even think to add South Korea into the mix.

Yet, I am reading in Fortune about Australia’s broadband savior, Sol Trujillo. If you are to believe this article, this white knight has single handedly changed the course of the country’s “tech scene” by “shaking up” Telstra, the dominant telco and steering it to invest in a next generation network.

I like what he is saying about “high-speed, near ubiquitous wireless broadband” being a game changer, but remain sceptical that we are talking about the same playing board.

Telstra totally dominates the telco arena in Australia. Their pricing is not globally competitive – before moving to Woodside, I was paying US$25 a month for all you can eat ultra high speed broadband in Palo Alto. “Broadband” in Sydney costs easily 3x as much and it’s capped. I cannot begin to compare what it would cost to run an iPhone in Australia!

It’s great to see companies like Momentum, which is mentioned in the Fortune piece, continuing to build their business in the country, but I wonder how much stronger they would be today were they playing on a more level playing field. [Disclosure, I was an investor in Momentum]

I’d love to hear from Australians what they think about this article – truth or a pr job…is Telstra helping or hindering your company’s business?

NVCA Annual Survey: VC Glass Half Full Or Half Empty

As with everything in life, it’s how you view it that determines your response. You could bitch about how cool the Bay area is this week or marvel at the clarity this brings to the marvellous vistas that abound in this beautiful part of the world.

Same thing with the National Venture Capital Association’s annual survey results. Yes, by all accounts venture guys will be investing less in 2009 than they have done in 2008, but so what.

If your business is compelling enough chances are you stand just as good a likelihood of getting funding in next as in any year. Let others hold back or fold, this increases your funding probability factor.

That said, don’t let me belittle the task ahead for both investors and entrepreneurs – the air is cooler, you get to see further, but the mountains are no less steep. Keep on the journey.

[Pic courtesy of mrjoro]

Succeeding In Liew Of The Recession: 5 Tips For Internet Companies

Lightspeed Ventures partner, Jeremy Liew has written a great piece as his first Wall Street Journal guest column entry in which he explores a number of trends that will emerge in the new year.

His first point is that “even in a recession, people still want to be entertained”. I’d ratchet that statement up a notch – “especially in a recession, people need to be entertained”. Humans have a wonderful ability to side channel their consciousness to avoid discomforting things and escapism is rampant when times are tough.

He goes on to make some great points that are well worth reading. I look forward to reading more of his thoughts in further columns.

Ohai! Virtual Goods Are Not Just For Gamers

Former Charles River Ventures VC and now CEO of ohai, Susan Wu, gave a great presentation at Le Web in Paris earlier today about the market for virtual goods.

She pointed out that 70% of Tencent’s annual revenue of $1bn comes from the sale of virtual goods. Faced with minimal opportunity to monetize via online advertising in China, the company chose a different path. Considering that advertising is on the wane at present, many companies would do well to follow Tencent’s lead.

You can watch Susan’s presentation below, and I encourage you to do so – for me these closing words from her are a great call to action:

If your users are interacting or building relationships, you can monetize via virtual goods.

Your community will participate, with or without you.

Find ways to capture the passion from ‘verbs’ – behaviors users are already participating in.

British To Mind The Venture Gap With Billion Pound Funding

If things look tough in the Valley, spare a thought for companies trying to raise funding in the far flung reaches of the galaxy.

The UK Government is apparently taking this seriously and is going to launch an emergency venture capital fund to help startups through the funding gap that has grown yawingly big in recent weeks.

Do it. Fast. Don’t get caught up in bureaucracy. And whatever you do, don’t give the usual suspects the purse strings. Get innovative, get entrepreneurial and make speed your friend. Startups will love ya for it!

Other thoughts: broadstuff .

Will other countries follow their lead?

[Pic courtesy of HDR London]