iiNet Managing Director Michael Malone offers TWNetwork a snapshot of his business.

Could you please provide an overview of iiNet’s business?

iiNet was established in 1993 and listed on the ASX in 1999, growing from a small Perth business based in a family garage, into the third largest ISP in Australia. The company now supports more than 750,000 broadband, telephony and dialup services nationwide, with revenues of over $400m, and proudly employs more than 1,300 people in Perth, Sydney, Auckland and Cape Town.

iiNet’s goal is to lead the market with the best internet access products, then differentiate with genuine, plain speaking customer service. The company has its own high-speed ADSL2+ network reaching around 4 million households across Australia. iiNet also has the largest Voice over IP network in the country and is delighted to have led the way with Naked DSL, recognised by PC User magazine as the 2007 Product of the Year.

What characterises value for iiNet when choosing a supplier?
At iiNet, we value:

• innovative products and ideas
• world-leading customer service
• integrity and ethis in every decision.
  

What do you value about Telstra Wholesale’s products and services?
Telstra is by far the biggest supplier to iiNet and we have a very positive relationship with all the people we deal with in Wholesale. That doesn’t mean we always agree on everything!  But we trust that the Telstra Wholesale team will tell us how they see the world and be transparent in their reasoning. Telstra Wholesale is respected by the entire industry for the quality of its network, its sustained excellence in operations, and its ability to deliver on what it promises.

Where do you see iiNet’s growth coming from over the next few years?
For the past few years, the industry overall has taken a ride on the move to broadband.  iiNet has performed well in this transition, combining appropriate acquisitions with strong organic growth led by product leadership in ADSL2+,  Voice over IP, Naked DSL and now with Broadband in a Box (BoB).  We expect organic growth will continue in the next couple of years - but there is more and more competitive pressure, so focussing on churn is extremely important.  We need to offer excellent customer service, a respected brand, and top notch content, so that our customers are receiving more than just vanilla broadband and never have a reason to leave

What do you see as the emerging trends in the market?
The trends are the same as they have been for decades:

• increasing demand for higher speeds, and applications that require those speeds; and
• decreasing importance of organisations that try to make money by sitting between the customer and the content.
  

High speeds give a better experience for traditional activities like email and web browsing, but it also opens up an entire new generation of online gaming, streaming television, on demand movies and video conferencing.  There’s also an increasing demand for mobility, led particularly by the iPhone and other smart mobile devices.

What do you believe iiNet will look like in ten years?
The world is changing very fast.  iiNet has the advantage of being nimble, innovative and very customer focussed.  I hope that in ten years, as a much larger company, we can still be all of those things.  The products and technology will be vastly different, but we’ll still be there, leading the way with the coolest new products, supported by the country’s best service.

Facts about iiNet

• iiNet began in the garage of my family home in Padbury, Perth back in 1993.
• iiNet has just taken out the ACOMMs award for Commitment to Customer Service.
• We have the largest VoIP network in the country.
• We’ve recently expanded into Melbourne, with views to expand further.
• iiNet is the only ISP in Australia to have BoB.