Like vultures hovering over the soon-to-be-dead body of Australia’s Internet industry, filter vendors are lining up at doors of ISPs around the country ready to cash in.

According to Colin Jacobs at NoCleanFeed.com, Communications Day (subscription required) reports today that ISPs are already being lobbied by filtering companies and that small providers will be hit hardest.

Internode carrier relations manager John Lindsay says “many” vendors have contacted his company, and that based on their pricing the cost of filtering software alone would exceed the Government’s budget by 50%.

The article suggests that service providers with smaller market shares may be hit the hardest by the scheme. Since the filter vendors often use a sliding scale in pricing their licenses, smaller ISPs may be have to bear a disproportionate share of the burden.

Read more at the NoCleanFeed blog.