Primus Telecommunications will provide opportunities for local developers and integrators to take a stake in its new business-to-business portal.
The company has already signed a deal to provide data centre services and technical support for Melbourne-based liquor industry services technology company LIST.com.au - a Net startup which plans to distribute liquor to restaurants and bottle shops.
Primus's e-commerce general manager, John Dowell, said the portal, or "pseudo ASP", will provide applications for SME markets to transact and trade online.
The new service will give local developers and integrators an opportunity to provide applications that are complementary to the portal's business-to-business environment, he said.
Dowell claimed the Australian SME sector would save and earn tens of millions of dollars using the company's e-commerce technology.
"Primus' investment will be the key that unlocks the shackles which have held Australian businesses back for so long. This is the boost SMEs need to get out there and show the world just how good Australian businesses really are."
Primus recently launched its Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) service, Jetstream, which operates using high-speed DSL modems over copper, providing a permanent connection and high-speed access while reducing delays from busy signals and other access problems.
Ravi Bhatia, Primus Australia's managing director, said the speed with which the information age has evolved is remarkable.
"The introduction of DSL technology is part of the evolution of this great age we now live in, and the doors it opens up for Australians in a wide variety of areas is mind-boggling."
Access speeds for DSL services, which use a dedicated line per user, can reach up to 8Mbps, or 140 times faster than a high-speed dial-up modem.
Primus intends to make its DSL service, which comes in a range of speeds, available to corporate businesses and households Australiawide, over the next 12 months. The service will initially be available in CBD areas in all major capital cities.