To the editor,

I am still trying to digest Telstra's insipid

justification of the government's telecommunications monopoly in your

advertising feature.

Telstra was forced to accept competition in its home

country with the floating of a rival company. Since then Telstra has gone on to

earn record profits on much reduced margins, as lower prices increased demand.

Competition improved services so much that Australian consumers were

staggered.

Most human consumption is directly linked to price

sensitiveness. In Cambodia, the charge rates are so disproportionate to the rest

of the world that most expats only receive calls or organize with head office a

daily calling time.

Every month the MPTC sends me a letter advising that

I have not paid the phone bill. Every month I photocopy my remittance advises

and send them back to the MPTC. Just how this money is reinvested into Cambodia

is anyone's guess.

Government monopolies do nothing for any country,

except distort behavior and promote inefficiencies. They are a common

denominator in the third world and societies should not have to tolerate

them.

Would Telstra please release it's Cambodian market research on the

elasticity of demand and then explain how it is planning to maximize

revenues.

- Name & address withheld.