Re: [LINK] The NBN is already out of date, but it's not too late to change course

[David Boxall]

On 30/03/2016 3:42 PM, JanW wrote:
...  - the ping pong of politics will kill this state. Long term projects 

are nearly impossible to attempt.

...

Has Democracy reached end-of-life?

--
David Boxall|  I have seen the past
|  And it worked.
http://david.boxall.id.au   |   --TJ Hooker
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Re: [LINK] The NBN is already out of date, but it's not too late to change course

[JanW]

At 03:16 PM 30/03/2016, David Boxall wrote:

>Sadly, today's Conservatives seem terrified of the future. Asking them for 
>anything "with long-term sustainability in mind" is asking them to confront 
>that which causes them to soil their nappies. 

It's the same at state level. You should have heard David Davis (he who was 
former health minister in Victoria who was a fail) this morning on Faine 
pushing back on new rail services. It was breathtaking. Faine pushed back - the 
ping pong of politics will kill this state. Long term projects are nearly 
impossible to attempt.

Jan


I write books. http://janwhitaker.com/?page_id=8

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
jw...@janwhitaker.com
Twitter: JL_Whitaker
Blog: www.janwhitaker.com 

Sooner or later, I hate to break it to you, you're gonna die, so how do you 
fill in the space between here and there? It's yours. Seize your space. 
~Margaret Atwood, writer 

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[LINK] The NBN is already out of date, but it's not too late to change course

[David Boxall]

Strangely, some people still seem surprised at just how badly we've been 
screwed for short-term political gain. Of course, the whole 
telecommunications network has been mismanaged since the 1980s; Internet 
connectivity is just the highest-profile casualty at present.




...
There's some good news. Both our average and peak internet speeds have 
increased by 11 per cent and 6.4 per cent year-on-year, respectively. 
However, that's a bit like kicking six unanswered goals in the last 
quarter of an AFL match when you're 50 points behind. It might make a 
few players feel better but it still means you lost the game.


In any case, when it comes to a realistic analysis of our internet 
service it's less about download speeds and more about upstream speed, 
latency, reliability, value-for-money, and future upgradability.


... It is thought that soon, if not now, the cost of building a fibre 
network will turn out to be very close to the cost of continuing with 
copper.


This does not take into account the long-term advantages of building a 
fibre network from the beginning. ... once it is laid fibre has a 
virtually unlimited upgrade potential. The maximum speed that can be 
squeezed out of copper is limited, it can't be upgraded without 
significant additional expenditure and wastage of sunk costs, and 
maintenance costs are high compared to the fibre alternatives.


Add the fact that NBN is a long-term national infrastructure play, and 
the fact that the copper-based services will be superseded and no 
longer fit-for-purpose in 10 to 15 years, and you just have to wonder 
why we are still heading down such an inferior pathway. The Snowy 
Mountains scheme, by contrast, is still delivering 50-plus years after 
it was completed because it was designed for the future, not just the 
next couple of electoral cycles. Likewise the Sydney Harbour Bridge 
built back in the 1930s.


... What we really need now is for the government to change its 
official position and instruct NBN to adopt a fibre-based strategy 
with long-term sustainability in mind.


We need to stop arguing about the relative costs of fibre verses 
copper. All we are talking about now is when we spend the money 
because we will eventually have to replace the copper wire.


Sadly, today's Conservatives seem terrified of the future. Asking them 
for anything "with long-term sustainability in mind" is asking them to 
confront that which causes them to soil their nappies.


--
David Boxall|  For when the One Great Scorer comes
|  To mark against your name,
http://david.boxall.id.au   |  He writes-not that you won or lost-
|  But how you played the game.
 --Grantland Rice

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