Hmmmm... interesting stuff!
Yes, our infrastructure is rather crappy. There are reasons for it, though - like the fact that once you move out of the major cities, the number of people per mobile tower or mile of copper line required is ridiculously small... making it difficult to share access fairly while still making money.
I suspect ebooks will have a harder time hitting critical mass in Australia than I'd like. Say I have an ebook reader like the Kindle or nook, with wireless internet access to bookstores. I go to my parent's place for Christmas, and I lose my ability to buy new books while I'm there (unless the wireless is Telstra's - maybe). Sure I can use a computer and transfer the files, and I'm tech-savvy enough to have no worries, but a lot of people I know would be put off.
On the bright side, though - I've seen numerous Kindles and even a Sony reader on the trains, and more people reading on their phones/ipods. Clearly there IS a market here. Hopefully my suspicions will be groundless and Kobo/REDbooks will be a blazing success from day one.
I'm understanding now why Kobo's signed a distribution agreement with Smashwords - lots of geographically-unrestricted ebooks to offer non-US&Canadian customers.
