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I think the NBN won't prove itself in the next 10 years, it will take longer. I don't know what we will be using the internet for in 2020 . . do you? This is t

by hartror 16y ago

I think the NBN won't prove itself in the next 10 years, it will take longer. I don't know what we will be using the internet for in 2020 . . do you? This is the long haul and frankly the private sector has had 10 years to prove themselves in Australia and they have faltered at every turn. This is the kind of projects governments should take on, long term and perhaps a little visionary. Oh and don't ignore the reliability it could/should. I know we've dealt with some pretty unreliable internet connections both a home and at the office due to oooold copper and you really do pay through the nose for good connections. Don't underestimate what reliable infrastructure brings to the table especially for business confidence.

andrewstuart 16y ago
This is an excellent point. The free market has done nothing to build a powerful, universal foundation for telecommunications in Australia. We've seen nothing but stalling and roadblocks from Telstra in recent years. A major part of the problem is that rural/country Australia is so vast that it is not economically viable for profit driven companies to support. Telecommunications in Australia a disgrace. Frankly I think that massive government expenditure in this area is well overdue.
- brc 16y ago
  I was going to leave this thread alone, but one thing keeps sticking in my mind. Water infrastructure is a state owned monopoly. Telecoms is not, even though Telstra dominate residential connections. A friend of mine wanted to connect water to his house down a short laneway (about 100 metres) in a rural area. The water authorities wanted $15,000 and 6 months to do it. He asked Telstra to connect the phoneline. It was done for free within two weeks. That is the difference between a government monopoly and private enterprise. If Telstra was still Telecom Australia, I have no doubt that the line would have taken twice as long and probably cost something as well. You might scoff and say that couldn't possibly happen with the NBN, but in all seroiusness, anyone who thinks setting up a massive government beauracracy will result in anything but this type of behaviour hasn't had much experience with governments. The role of Government should be to design the laws in such a way as to encourage investment, and to leave that investment to the private sector where the private sector is willing to invest. Where they are not because of low population density, government subsidies can be provided to private companies to do that investment.
jacques_chester 16y ago
> I think the NBN won't prove itself in the next 10 years, it will take longer. I don't know what we will be using the internet for in 2020 . . do you? Of course I don't. But: 1. Others have had this level of service for a decade and not seen any breakthrough applications, and 2. You can't predict the future either. "Perhaps it will be useful" is not a business case worthy of $40 billion. > This is the long haul and frankly the private sector has had 10 years to prove themselves in Australia and they have faltered at every turn. In the last 10 years my internet connection has gone from dialup 56k to ADSL2+. Thousands of kilometres of private fibre has been laid in the CBDs, between the capitals and across the Pacific ocean. Prices per-byte have steadily fallen the entire time, in spite of Telstra's dominance in last-mile infrastructure.

by hartror 16y ago

andrewstuart 16y ago

This is an excellent point. The free market has done nothing to build a powerful, universal foundation for telecommunications in Australia. We've seen nothing but stalling and roadblocks from Telstra in recent years. A major part of the problem is that rural/country Australia is so vast that it is not economically viable for profit driven companies to support. Telecommunications in Australia a disgrace. Frankly I think that massive government expenditure in this area is well overdue.

brc 16y ago
I was going to leave this thread alone, but one thing keeps sticking in my mind. Water infrastructure is a state owned monopoly. Telecoms is not, even though Telstra dominate residential connections. A friend of mine wanted to connect water to his house down a short laneway (about 100 metres) in a rural area. The water authorities wanted $15,000 and 6 months to do it. He asked Telstra to connect the phoneline. It was done for free within two weeks. That is the difference between a government monopoly and private enterprise. If Telstra was still Telecom Australia, I have no doubt that the line would have taken twice as long and probably cost something as well. You might scoff and say that couldn't possibly happen with the NBN, but in all seroiusness, anyone who thinks setting up a massive government beauracracy will result in anything but this type of behaviour hasn't had much experience with governments. The role of Government should be to design the laws in such a way as to encourage investment, and to leave that investment to the private sector where the private sector is willing to invest. Where they are not because of low population density, government subsidies can be provided to private companies to do that investment.

jacques_chester 16y ago

> I think the NBN won't prove itself in the next 10 years, it will take longer. I don't know what we will be using the internet for in 2020 . . do you? Of course I don't. But: 1. Others have had this level of service for a decade and not seen any breakthrough applications, and 2. You can't predict the future either. "Perhaps it will be useful" is not a business case worthy of $40 billion. > This is the long haul and frankly the private sector has had 10 years to prove themselves in Australia and they have faltered at every turn. In the last 10 years my internet connection has gone from dialup 56k to ADSL2+. Thousands of kilometres of private fibre has been laid in the CBDs, between the capitals and across the Pacific ocean. Prices per-byte have steadily fallen the entire time, in spite of Telstra's dominance in last-mile infrastructure.