The same limitation affects everything when you're talking about the Internet. It hampers email transmission, the advent of digital TV, and websites that win a slew of design awards but which — in the real world — fail without a whimper when people don't have ten minutes to wait for while some huge animation to download.

Says Steve Lieblich — who joined i-delve's creators nine months ago to help commercialise it — 'The Geographic Information Systems market is growing at about 20% a year, and it's worth $32 billion. It's a very broad market.'

After paying $17 billion for the company, which they valued at $20bn including debts, Singtel announced early that they would still operate all Optus' businesses — including local and long distance phone calls, the mobile phone network and pay TV.