IS the NBN really the goods?

[mick]

Structural separation of Telstra a step closer ...

This should have been done when Telstra was first floated, a move in the right direction.

[dedja]

Structural separation of Telstra a step closer ...

This should have been done when Telstra was first floated, a move in the right direction.

Well it's going to happen now ... has been passed by the Senate and will be ratified by the House of Reps.

Telstra's monopoly will finally be buried.

[Psyber]

Well it's going to happen now ... has been passed by the Senate and will be ratified by the House of Reps.
Telstra's monopoly will finally be buried.

I'm glad it got through - their monopoly position was always a mistake.
Howard acted on Keating's plan for the Telstra float, and the separation of function should have been in the plan.
I'd have liked to see the government retain some control of the infrastructure section right from the start.
[ And I say that as a Liberal Party member and a Telstra shareholder.]

[Psyber]

This was forwarded to me, quite clearly from a Liberal Party source, and I haven't verified what it says about the report independently, but it does raise questions.

The wireless internet threat to NBN..

A report commissioned by Federal Labor and released this week warned wireless internet technologies are a threat to the NBN as Labor tried to bolster the Network’s business case.
In announcing that NBN Co would acquire wireless airtime from Pay TV operator, Austar,
Labor conceded it erred in cancelling a Coalition policy which sought to purchase the same rights, at half the price, three years ago.

If Labor had maintained the Coalition’s broadband policy, rural Australians would already have high speed internet access today.
Instead, Labor’s arrogance and incompetence has delivered a less efficient market and greater costs to the Australian taxpayer.

The Empire strikes back?
Telstra have recently announced a high speed wireless broadband technology that may, as they claimed in a TV promotion, outperform and compete with the NBN.
http://www.telstra.com.au/abouttelstra/ ... d-2011.xml

[redandblack]

I would never have guessed that was from a Liberal Party source, Psyber

I'm surprised The Australian, which runs at least one anti-NBN story almost every day, has somehow missed the very positive story lauding the NBN from the boss of Google.

Strange.

[Psyber]

I would never have guessed that was from a Liberal Party source, Psyber
I'm surprised The Australian, which runs at least one anti-NBN story almost every day, has somehow missed the very positive story lauding the NBN from the boss of Google.
Strange.

Yes, obviously, that's why I said so - I didn't want to have it suggested I was passing it off as anything else.
Do you know if there is any truth to the bit about it being in the commissioned report? [ I've seen no information from any other source.]

A report commissioned by Federal Labor and released this week warned wireless internet technologies are a threat to the NBN as Labor tried to bolster the Network’s business case.

[Interceptor]

I'm surprised The Australian, which runs at least one anti-NBN story almost every day, has somehow missed the very positive story lauding the NBN from the boss of Google.

Strange.

Not at all, ask any internet company boss and the answers will invariably by positive -after all the NBN is a tech-nerd's wet dream and they don't care about the cost. So those stories are hardly going to offer anything new most of the time.

As for "at least one anti-NBN story almost every day": should the most expensive infrastructure project in Australia's history proceed a) without scrutiny b) only moderate scrutiny or c) heavy scrutiny?

The answer is obvious to anyone who gives the slightest damn about how it proceeds.
The government's reluctance for transparency makes underlines that approach.

[Q.]

It's no secret that there are certain stakeholders who have a lot to lose with the introduction of the NBN. Read the Caliburn Report yourselves and form an opinion, rather than be influenced by media outlets with hidden agendas.

[Psyber]

http://au.news.yahoo.com/latest/a/-/lat ... 0-a-month/
That would be acceptable if the $59.95/month includes VOIP and phone services as does my present deal with Internode at that price.
If it doesn't I'd give it a miss as it offers me only 12 Mbps compared with the 6.4 Mbps I average now.
I have never used more than 6 GB of downloads in a month, so offering me 30GB on the base plan is worth nothing to me..

Overall, not much of an improvement for all that money outlaid from my point of view.
Also, not much gain for the "regional" people who "could have to pay more to connect to the network".
The average "regional" worker is likely to be one of those least able to afford to connect anyway.

Perhaps it will be good for "city-slicker" and "townie" high downloading families..