[levinet]

Definitely could, but they'd need to lay their own international cables -- PIPE Networks (owned by TPG) is the closest we've got to a market disruptor and they can only compete because they have their own undersea cables.

Given the low total population and very low population density it's probably not really worth it though.

[Gustomaximus]

As a general comment, I hear this 'low population density' about Australia a bunch. I wonder if its a fallacious argument for many business cases.

Contrary to the Crocodile Dundee image, Australia is one of the most urbanised nations in the world. We have almost 50% of the population in Sydney & Melbourne alone, and our top 10 cities takes this to almost 90%. While a big landmass you can reach a high proportion in relatively few spots. Assuming a business doesn't expect infrastructure/coverage for the entire population Australia not to bad density.

Obviously the general remoteness of Australia and 25m population remain big factors, and I suspect this is more relevant than the often cited density issue.