Australia’s Networks Mapped!

Market Clarity’s Australian Telecom Infrastructure Atlas now available

• The Australian Telecom Infrastructure Atlas provides the first ever complete snapshot of the national telecommunications network
• Perfect tool for infrastructure planning by government, corporates and carriers

Sydney, AUSTRALIA – 25 February 2009– Leading telecommunications analyst firm Market Clarity today launched the most comprehensive directory of Australia’s telecommunications infrastructure.

Market Clarity’s Australian Telecom Infrastructure Atlas, based on the company’s extensive Telecommunications Infrastructure Database, contains 341 maps showing backhaul fibre, long-haul microwave, ADSL, SHDSL, and fixed wireless broadband infrastructure at the national, state, and capital city inner and outer metropolitan levels.

“The Atlas illustrates not just the infrastructure,” said Shara Evans, founder and CEO of Market Clarity. “It also provides a vivid visualisation of the interaction between different infrastructure.

“For example, we can clearly see the way that competitive broadband access infrastructure depends on backhaul competition in this country. If we want competitive broadband nationally, we must be prepared to support the deployment of large-scale competitive backhaul.

“In addition to broadband infrastructure programs such as the NBN, government should implement additional infrastructure policies to encourage backhaul rollout. Market Clarity strongly believes that major civil infrastructure projects such as roads and rail should be planned in ways that encourage broadband rollout.

“Such projects could install fibre ducting as a sunk cost of the project without becoming excessively costly – but at the same time, the availability of ducting combined with an open access policy would greatly reduce the costs of bringing telecommunications infrastructure to regional communities,” Ms Evans said.

In addition to maps of each infrastructure type, the Australian Telecom Infrastructure Atlas  provides composite maps allowing users to view access and backhaul fibre, microwave, DSLAMs and fixed wireless broadband in relation to each other, to population, as well as road and rail networks.

“The Australian Telecom Infrastructure Atlas is a unique resource that provides customers with the first-ever complete snapshot of the national telecommunications network from all carriers,” Ms Evans said.

It targets the needs of a wide variety of audiences:

• For regulators – the Atlas provides information about infrastructure penetration of all network types;
• For public policy decision makers, it provides a tool to assist in policy decision making in a national, regional or local context;
• For carriers, it enables assessments to existing infrastructure before committing to investment decisions, and can relate customer opportunities to their own infrastructure capabilities and those of their suppliers;
• For government agencies, whether Federal, State or Local, can use the Atlas to assess the telecommunications industry’s ability to meet their requirements;
• For corporates, the Atlas provides insight into telecommunications infrastructure available to their offices and facilities, ensuring that they aren’t committed to locations the carriers can’t properly service;
• And for vendors, it can help to identify market opportunities.

About Market Clarity

Market Clarity is an award-winning telecommunications analyst firm founded in January 2006 by leading Australian telecommunications researcher and strategic consultant, Shara Evans. The firm covers all aspects of telecommunications, including traditional and converged services and technologies. Market Clarity’s extensive databases of technical and market information cover a wide range of facts and figures on the technologies and services that are shaping the Australian telecommunications market. Market Clarity’s GIS tools and research databases enable the correlation and presentation of highly complex information in an intuitive geographic (map) format.

Market Clarity’s insights are derived from a deep understanding of technology, coupled with comprehensive research, which examines each segment of a service’s value chain as well as underlying population demographics. By leveraging its engineering knowledge with an ongoing primary research program, Market Clarity provides insight, intelligence and advice on all aspects of the Australian telecommunications market including traditional, converged and future technologies. Market Clarity’s unparalleled market knowledge and research databases are brought to all consulting engagements.

Market Clarity’s contribution to telecommunications in Australia was recognised by the telecommunications industry’s peak body, the Communications Alliance, which awarded the company its 2007 ACOMMS award for Services to the Industry – Professional Services.

Market Clarity is headquartered in Sydney, Australia.