MySpace Turns Away Australian Mobile Users

People are, after all, taking note of the development.  “MySpace has blocked Australians from accessing the new mobile phone version of its site in order to protect its exclusive and probably lucrative partnership deal with Optus,” reported The Sydney Morning Herald, a major national newspaper.  “The move effectively blocks Australians who are not Optus mobile customers from accessing MySpace on their handsets.”

But in terms of an outcry, there’s been virtually nothing.  Most onlookers are simply wondering why MySpace, which isn’t doing so well in the struggle against Facebook, would turn away anyone.  Want a taste of Australia’s attitude towards the social network?  Before the launch of MySpace’s mobile version, a Gizmodo Australia headline stated, “MySpace Mobile is Coming; MySpace Still a Horrible Site.”

As for Australians who don’t feel that way . . .  Unless MySpace is gaining some serious money through its arrangement with Optus, annoying an already shrinking fan base isn’t the smartest course of action.  In this case, “exclusive” could wind up meaning “empty.”

Broadband and mobile customers of the Australian telecom firm Optus will be able to receive content from provider ninemsn. Australia’s top Internet portal is co-owned by Publishing and Broadcasting Limited and Microsoft.

The deal puts a crimp in rival Telstra’s plans to deliver Microsoft’s Internet television application, IPTV, as a platform for broadband television services. Telstra had been working on local projects with Microsoft previously. Optus and ninemsn may offer IPTV services in the future.

“We welcome the entry of more players into the online content space,” Telstra said in a prepared statement. “We are sure that our market-leading movies, music and games sites will make us more than a match.”

“This is a major realignment of the multimedia networks in Australia and it is a very significant event for us,” Optus chief executive Paul O’Sullivan said.

PBL chairman James Packer said ninemsn would not partner with other telecom companies on the same level as Optus. “We’ve got a significantly preferred relationship with Optus, and vice-versa,” he said.

Microsoft has been developing Internet Protocol Television as an option for telecom and cable companies. For telcos, IPTV would let them offer digitally delivered content over their broadband networks.

Those potential offerings could be video on demand or digital recording services. For cable, Microsoft touts the ability to utilize bandwidth currently used for analog traffic and transition it to digital. Then, that bandwidth could be used for more revenue-generating services.

“IPTV could do more for MSOs (multiple service operator, ie., cable operator) than just free up bandwidth. It has the potential to enable them to offer next-generation TV services that take advantage of their two-way broadband infrastructures,” said Lynne Elander, Microsoft IPTV general manager, in a CableWorld magazine interview.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.