Since this morning’s announcement that the Government is going to be creating their own company to build the NBN, there has been an outpouring of love and respect from ISPs so profound that you’d think K-Rudd was the new Dalai Lama.So far, my inbox has press releases from iiNet, Internode, Primus, and Telstra, all commending the Government for their decision to build the network. Even Telstra’s response lacked the venom we’ve become so accustomed to.
Here are some of the key quotes from the releases:
“This is the best of all possible outcomes and will ensure Australians have access to fast, affordable and competitive broadband. In terms of the key criteria we were looking for in a National Broadband Network – open access, structural separation, fixing backhaul ‘black spots’ and regulatory reform – the Government has delivered.” — Michael Malone, iiNet
“We look forward to having constructive discussions with the Government at the earliest opportunity. There is a lot to absorb in the Government’s announcement and we will consider every aspect in detail.Telstra supports the Government’s objectives of investment in world-leading broadband infrastructure, an innovative telecommunications sector and healthy competition that provides real choice for customers.” — Donald McGauchie, Telstra
“I’m gobsmacked – in a good way! If they do what they promise, they’ve actually got it right and Australia might just turn into a broadband front-runner country 10 years from now. It is a great relief that the Government has abandoned the Fibre to the Node (FTTN) delivery model which would have cost it $4.7 billion without cutting the mustard. Rather than squander its cash on FTTN or do nothing, it has the guts to build a Fibre to the Home network that will cost more than $40 billion.” — Simoon Hackett, Internode
“The decisions taken today are truly historic, and are clearly decisions that only a confident and decisive Government could take. We are very pleased that these processes are underway and look forward to contributing.” — Ravi Bhatia, Primus
See? Lovefest. All for a solution that’s going to take 8 years to build.
Roger
April 7, 2009 at 3:49 PM
I’m happy to wait 8 years for fibre to my door. At the moment my only options for broadband are cable (pricing is horrid) and ADSL (not 2+) so this will be a great thing once it arrives. Hopefully we see some details before the end of the year in regards to actual timelines for cities/areas.
Report PermalinkBen
April 7, 2009 at 4:51 PM
So will a stipulation of using this network be that the content filter must be used?
Report PermalinkLittleRedBook
April 7, 2009 at 8:00 PM
Now watch KRudd make a swifty on the filter plan while we all have our heads turned…
f’ing communists
Report Permalinkhugh
April 7, 2009 at 8:29 PM
yeah faster broad band is good but how good will that be in 8 years time? don’t get me wrong i want it but do we all ready have a 50/50 government/private telco? TELSTRA? do we need telstra2? and is nobody concerned that Conroy or what every his name is will be be in charge of at least some of it. will it have a built in filter? and 90% of poeple come on what about me in the bush. i have a fiber cable laid to my to gate that isn’t connected to anything, it brakes of that and onto 1960′s laid copper wire. the phones stop working in the rain. i mean seriously connect it to at least 99% of Australia.
Report PermalinkAndrew
April 7, 2009 at 10:30 PM
I think the annoucement is pretty positive … except after they have spent all our (taxpayer) money building it, they intend to sell it after 5 years. Can anyone say Telstra mark 2? The government should retain ownership of the infrastructure … i mean, chances are this will not only replace our current internet connections, but also any fixed line and probably television as well (here’s hoping for a real tv on demand service with a 100mbps connection). Yes, those service should be provided by a value added reseller, but the network itself should be retained by the government if they are the ones building and paying for it.
Oh, and I hope that it’ll be able to be scaled up from the 100Mbps announced (or this is the minimum for country/regional areas), especially given it’ll take 8 years to deploy (who knows how far ahead technology will be in 8 years) … I thought Fibre to the Home would be faster.
Report PermalinkDavid Busher
April 8, 2009 at 12:33 AM
“you’d think K-Rudd was the new Dalai Lama.”
I’d bet that’s just what he wants as well.
Report PermalinkHirsty
April 8, 2009 at 6:28 AM
Roger Roger.
Report PermalinkSam Marconi
April 8, 2009 at 10:24 AM
Nick,
Report PermalinkYou misunderstand. The fiber based NBN will take eight years to complete and there is absolutely no reason why parts of Australia start getting the 100 Mbps service almost immediately.
Chaps
April 8, 2009 at 11:29 AM
Once the Fibre is in, we aren’t limited to 100Mb.That is limited by the technology on each end of the fibre run.
Once the technology increased, the boxes at each end which manage the bandwidth can be upgraded and the FTTH will still be able to handle it…
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