IvanM

Why is it a choice? Kind of like Bush's you are with us or against us. Give me both if there is a pay back.

bcworld

Perhaps because despite your best attempts to attribute it to the NBN and no doubt Gillard by proxy:

...as far as I can see the 'thousand times faster' is the interpretation of an ABC journalist, nothing more.

BristolBeary

It will be great, just an obscene waste of money. All of the goals set out can be achieved at the fraction of the price. The future is not in cables in the ground it's in wireless. When I walk out my front door I want to take my connection to the Internet with me, as do most other people as seen in the increase in mobile data usage.

In Perth for example the whole metro is covered by WIMAX with peak speeds between 5-8 Mbits and usually just under 10Mbits. That's with a USB dongle, with a base station it's more. $19 gets you 2Gb per month, that's meets most peoples needs already, why an earth people get 3G data plans is beyond me.

A draft spec of this technology has increased the theoretical maximum to 1Gbit . That's the future as most other countries already know, by the time Australia gets those cables in the ground it will have already been superseded.

Vividwireless.com.au if your interested.

keel

This is why I can't understand the greenies/government policies (I don't want to make this political). How is it sensible to "give" someone 6 grand to convert 1 house?

I think instead of converting 10,000 houses this money should be spent on a commercial solar powerstation with all the cost savings of having it all in 1 place and probably supplying 15000 homes.

But saying that I'm now considering putting the panels up, why look a gift horse in the mouth? I might disagree with the principle but I may save some money. Our electricity was 12 cents a unit 12 months ago and is now 18 cents a unit and I don't know if there are any other price rises in the pipeline.

If labour wins the election, with the greens support, then I can see the carbon tax coming in soon. The price might be 30 cents a unit in 3 years.

I've just found this site http://forums.energymatters.com.au/

Another forum. I hope it's as much fun as this one

I'm about to have a look see.

Keel

fish.01

Wireless will coexist with cabled broadband as it does now. The massive speed difference cable has, and will continue to have over wireless (using fibre), will support the most communication intensive applications of the future. As it does now wireless will support cut down mobile versions of them with less intensive comms. Future apps is the key, not current ones. Future fixed or wireless would support current apps but the internet will be used for far more comms intensive apps that only fibre will support....because fibre will make them possible.

BristolBeary

I agree to a point but the latest wireless technologies are actually faster than the proposed fixed cable. Still no one has answered that despite the huge cost, consumers are still left with a minimum $500 + new router(s) + possible software upgrades, so would anyone fork the cash out to get a faster connection?

And what about the extra cost to small/medium business's, will the government help pay them and ISP's the costs associating with this kind of upgrade.

Again look at my Swindon example - fast, free broadband that's the future. The high cost for the consumer will just create a massive digital divide.

Fast next generation networks can be done right now at 15% of the price.

Deancm_MKII

The government that was in power at the time.

Deancm_MKII

And according to an IBM Consultant it will blow out to $80 - $100 billion.

Amazulu

That's my main problem with the NBN - where does the cost end? It would be interesting to see who paid for Korea's 100Mb FO network - private or state?

JoeBloggs80

NBN is a question of when rather than if as far as I'm concerned. It should def happen at some point. Why not now?

Broad Shoulders

Oh, you mean the Liberals?

Wol

I don't think anyone would deny that it would be "nice" to have 1Gb, 2Gb or more speeds - but the question is how much are you prepared to pay for it? Let's face it, most of us don't need anything like the speeds that are being talked about.

I am quite happy with 1.5Mb - realistically 1.2Mb - but it would be nice to have say 5Mb/sec - at the same price. I wouldn't pay any more than I am now for that, though.

If you "needed" 10Mb, would you want to pay for 100Mb?

Deancm_MKII

Irrespective of who was in power at the time, the fact remains that Telstra, a government owned monopoly, was sold off to become a privately owned monopoly.

Do you think the NBN Co will not eventually be sold off?

BristolBeary

Just doing a bit more research and found that if the fibre runs past your property or business, you have no choice but to pay for it to be connected - its mandatory.

So if you want to keep your cheap broadband i.e. your happy with you 1.5-5Mbit because all you do is check emails, surf the web etc, then sorry you'll have to fork out the cash. Minimum of $500.

Thats the kind of sh*t that annoys me - the real detail that is glossed over to win votes.

Deancm_MKII

That's the kind of shit you get with a Labor govt.