The organisation was founded out of businesses frustration with the constraints of what then the monopoly of Telecom Australia, domestically and the Overseas Telecommunications Commission over international services. It played a key lobbying role in each of the three waves of deregulation that culminated in the 1997 Telecommunications Act, and was a valued source of information and a forum for the exchange of information and ideas, but the changes of the past decade have rendered it largely superfluous in all those capacities.

Chairman David Swift said: "Today's vibrant telecommunications environment owes much to the efforts of ATUG over the past 30 years. However the achievements of the past three decades have also meant that the ongoing requirements and priorities of end-users have changed'¦By promoting the interests of end-users, offering access to information and organising valuable networking events, ATUG has been a leading force for change as Australia moved from a government-owned telecommunications monopoly to an internet-enabled environment with multiple providers and choices.

"Today the ATUG message is effectively bolstered by a number of consumer organisations as well as regulators and policies which promote the long-term interests of end-users. Telecommunications users now have ready access to research and information from a wide array of sources. So they no longer have to rely on ATUG newsletters, forums and conferences."

"Consequently ATUG has been experiencing a decline in its membership base and the board believes it is now the right time for ATUG to cede to others the continued promotion of end-user interests in the broadband-enabled world of NBN."

He told iTWire that the Global Financial Crisis had been the last straw. "People just were not renewing their memberships'¦We looked at all sorts of ways to continue it but it would have meant putting it on life support - and we were not getting the support of the industry."

However he had a warning for businesses that no longer saw a need for an organisation to represent their interests against to the telco service provider industry, and in the regulatory environment.

"People think the battle is won but it isn't'¦Users have been hoodwinked into believing everything is a source of joy and it isn't. The reality is we have ended up with two monopolies with very few constraints on them and cost structures are bound to go up."

When asked if he believed there would be a need for a similar organisation in the future when, and if, the NBN 'monopoly' is established, Swift said: "Absolutely. There will be a need for a business based lobbying organisation but I don't think that need will become apparent for at least two years. Then we will see the cost structures change and people won't be so happy."