iiNet forges alliance with iTunes: movie downloads in Australia soon?

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Peter Sbarski26 April 2007, 2:35 PM

iiNet and iTunes have formed a free download partnership, leading us to wonder if Australia's third largest ISP knows something we don't about the introduction of movie downloads into Australia.

Third largest Australian ISP, iiNet, has given an unexpected late Easter Egg to its customers: unmetered access to the Australian iTunes Store.

For now, this means customers can download songs, music videos, audio books and short films from Apple without the data being counted as part of their download allowance.

But it's obvious to observers that there's very little benefit to customers in these small amounts of data transfer saved.

Movies, on the other hand, with file sizes of a gigabyte or more, could put a serious dent in people's download allowances, especially on cheaper plans with smaller allowances. This announcement comes on the heels of iiNet’s new plans which have received a panning from some whirlpool aficionados for their lack of value.

Does iiNet knows something we don't about Apple's upcoming introduction of movie and TV show downloads into Australia?

Apple Australia confirmed that Steve Jobs intends to introduce movie downloads into markets outside the US this year. Could Australia be first? It certainly seems likely given iiNet's unexpected decision to provide free access to the iTunes store.

Downloading Movies and TV Shows right now

Of course, iiNet customers who are prepared to bend the iTunes rules a little can actually access US iTunes movie and TV show downloads now.

They simply need to access the US iTunes store by changing the “My Store” country at the bottom of the store homepage.

Then, it's possible to buy movies and TV shows by signing up for the US paypay.com account with a US address (a lot of iiNet customers are living at 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, by all accounts) and then funding the account with an Australian credit card. Apple then counts you as a US customer.

Be aware that you should carefully read Paypal and Apple's terms and conditions and make your own decision about whether this method of buying content from the US iTunes store is appropriate.

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Johnny Appleseed:

Sorry, but this is pure speculation. Apple said just this week it was aiming to launch movie downloads on Europe, its second-biggest market, by the end of the year. There was no mention of Australia.
iiNet probably just wants to align itself with the iTunes brand.

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Winus:

"Does iiNet knows something we don't about Apple's upcoming introduction of movie and TV show downloads into Australia?"

Might have an editor read and spell check before posting. "Does iiNet know"

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John K:

When are internet Providers such IINET and Bigpond going to get it... Customers are not interested in there value add bundles suhc as movies etc. All everyone really wants is cheap and good value internet Including generous download limits etc., rather than the pathetic entry level plans offered such as 256k and 200mb download limits. it up to users to decide where they buy there music and Movies online. They are merly offering a utility service. You don't see Energy Australia an electricity supplier trying to offer you cheap extension cords and power points, TVs etc. There merly an electricty supplier. Stick to what you are good at ISPs.

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Gerard:

John,

The business world it seems, is less than familiar to you. When ISPs go into different markets, they are diversifying.

The benefit of diversifying your product is to give you the ability to continue your company in the event of a market downturn and leverage your company off it's other products in different markets.

ISPs choose to diversify into different markets now because it is said that the internet supply market is reaching maturity as the vast majority of customers have now either migrated from Dial-Up to Broadband and there are less and less consumers (both personal and business consumers) entering the market for internet services, and this is causing a slight growth stagmentation for ISPs.

Your comparison of ISPs and Electricity providers is slightly flawed because Energy Providers have little need to diversify into different product. As we start using more electronics and more powerful computers, our power requirements increase. Though, the fact that you mention Electricity providers is yet another proof that what ISPs doing is very similar to Electricity providers. Electricity providers are diversifying into different technologies to produce electricity because they are concerned that fossil fuels (coal) are becoming very sparse, and renewable energy sources such as Solar and Wind provide them the ability to continue to grow. Much the same as Itunes/telephone bundling/internet pizza will allow ISPs to continue to grow. This is just the nature of good business.

Gerard

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