Even with the full privatisation of Telstra and a multi-billion dollar pot of gold for rural telecommunications, the Internet Society of Australia (ISOC-AU) is calling for stringent regulation, not money, to increase competition and service delivery.

Visiting Sydney for AUUG's annual conference, ISOC-AU president Tony Hill said the regional debate has been "heavily focused" towards telecommunications, but in the future people will be more reliant on the Internet with technologies like VoIP.

"My suggestion is that could be a better focus," Hill said. "We are looking at establishing a new, special interest group to address regional access issues. People can get adequate last-mile service with satellite. I know of a grazier in the Northern Territory who now uses Google Earth to plan the management of his property."

Hill doubts the concept of a "natural monopoly" will organically improve access in regional areas and believes competition policy is critical for fostering Internet access.

"There are a range of models around the world that could work for regional areas," he said. "A key part is the long-distance backhaul market which would be a good place for competition regulators to focus on."

On the possibility of a multi-billion dollar windfall for the advancement of rural communications infrastructure after the final sale of Telstra, Hill was pragmatic.

"Don't confuse business issues with technical issues," he said, adding there is no shortage of carriers so "the emphasis is competition policy".

"Frequently Telstra is the only company to deliver large-scale projects in Australia, so new guidelines are needed," he said.

ISOC-AU welcomes the ACCC's (Australian and Competition and Consumer Commission) new stance that it is prepared to step in quickly where there is dissatisfaction with an anticompetitive regime.

"That's more enlightened than what we've seen previously," Hill said. "It's a just at this time people are beginning to see the benefits of the Internet. A primary example is VoIP for much cheaper voice transit."

ISOC-AU is about promoting the benefits of Internet technologies, and although he believes "no major industry sector" is without representation, Hill concedes it needs to work harder to convince users as the Internet is now a fact of life.

Also among Hill's interests is ubiquitous networking with IPv6. He was the keynote speaker at the fifth world IPv6 conference in Korea, and will be speaking at Australia's first IPv6 summit in Canberra this month.

"The implications of IPv6 are much more significant than Y2K," he said. "It is the service providers' need to get up to speed and figure out transitional plans."