This paper takes a Competition Law and Policy perspective to Convergence in the context of Australia. It summarises and contextualises existing communications industry regulation in Australia, analyses the challenges of Multimedia alliances with comparative analysis wherever necessary, comments on the Report of Independent Committee of Inquiry into National Competition Policy, reviews the meaning of Public Interest and Public Benefit, and proposes a regulatory framework for the Australian communications industry.

This article focuses on the exact role played by Broadband in Convergence, with specific reference to its image as the ‘Big Pipe’, in the context of government policy regarding its promotion. It discusses the exact effect that the promotion of broadband will have, and the winners and losers, if any, in Convergence.

This short paper comments on how Convergence seems to becoming more of a practical reality, and the challenges the same raises for the Telecommunications Act, 1996, in the context of the US. It goes on to comment on how a new legal regime is necessary, and makes recommendations about the same.