Gizmodo Australia » nbn

Rural Aussie Broadband Slower Than Carrier Pigeon

Nick Broughall — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:30:00 +0000

Remember how last month an enterprising South African used a carrier pigeon to transfer data, and it was faster than using his DSL connection? Oh, how we laughed and laughed. Well, turns out that our own broadband situation is similarly awful, with ABC program Hungry Beast putting Telstra’s broadband to test against a pigeon and a car. Guess which one was the slowest?

The show transferred a 700MB file using all three methods from Tarana in rural NSW to Prospect in western Sydney, a distance of 130 odd kilometres. It took the pigeon about an hour, the car about two and ADSL… well, let’s just say that Telstra didn’t quite finish the race, although when the process started it was apparently going to take somewhere between four and nine hours.

So while we wait for the NBN, maybe we should invest a bit in pigeon training?

[ABC via ITNews]

Alcatel Lucent Explains The NBN For Your Mum

Nick Broughall — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:56:34 +0000

It’s pretty basic language, but this video from Alcatel Lucent actually does a pretty good job of explaining to the general populous why we need a National Broadband Network. Although personally, I’m waiting for those holographic technologies they mention towards the end of the video to be unleashed… “Help us National Broadband Network – you’re our only hope!”

[YouTube]

CSIRO Pimping New Wireless Tech For NBN

Nick Broughall — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:00:50 +0000

Screw Wimax and LTE – The CSIRO has a brand new wireless technology in the works, and is pimping it to the government as a possible solution to the problem of rolling out the NBN to remote areas.

According to Grahame Lynch at Commsday, the CSIRO technology is still in the prototype stage, although it has been patented to the hilt already. The tech would be able to offer 100Mbps to the consumer (yeah, right), would operate of 30MHz of the analogue TV spectrum (once that gets switched off in 2013), and the backhaul could provide 10Gbps throughputs over 50km distances.

But despite being in the prototype stage, this new wireless tech would be cheaper to roll out. In Griffiths NSW, for example, only two base stations would be needed to give the whole town high-speed internet, whereas Wimax would require 23 and LTE would need 31.

While we’re all for shiny new technologies here at Giz, it seems that if this needs the analogue TV spectrum, it’s probably still a few years off being a real competitor to LTE or even Wimax…

[Commsday – Thanks Kevin!]

How Much Would You Pay For 100Mbps Broadband?

Nick Broughall — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 04:00:12 +0000

Now that we’ve had a few days to digest the Rudd Government’s proposed FTTH NBN, commenters are coming out of the woodwork to argue against the plan. What they are most concerned about is the lack of detail given by the Government on how it reached its figures, and at how the entire network will work financially. And although there’s a lot of speculation and doubt over precise figures, early numbers being thrown around by the opposition have the monthly cost to the consumer sitting at around $150 a month.While most of us geeks wouldn’t be too against paying that amount for the speed (depending on data caps, of course), most families running a standard $40 a month ADSL plan would choke at the prospect of paying more than three times as much money for broadband than they are now.

So, how much would you pay for access to the new 100Mbps NBN?

FCC Developing First Ever National Broadband Plan

Adrian Covert — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 02:20:00 +0000

Beginning this morning with a one-hour meeting, the FCC embarked on a mission to roll out a national broadband plan within a year’s time. Where are they starting? With you.

Wired’s Ryan Singel says the FCC is taking input from average Joes (but probably not plumbers), public interest groups and telecommunication corporations. So far, Obama has dished out 7.2 billion in grants, bogged down in vague stipulations like only being used for “under-served” areas.

But fingers are crossed that the FCC will hammer out this net neutrality plan and roll out a network as powerful as our foreign counterparts, much like Australia did this week. Singel mentioned they rolled out a $US31 billion plan to provide 100mbps broadband internet that can reach to all citizens. C’mon, FCC! [Wired]

Australia To Stimulate Itself With Government-Backed 100-Megabit Fibre Broadband For 90% of Oz

John Mahoney — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:20:00 +0000

Ozzie prime minister Kevin Rudd has announced what will be one of the biggest government-sanctioned nationwide broadband initiatives in history: an $43 billion plan to bring a fat 100mbps fibre pipe to 90% of Australians.

The plan, which costs $US30.5 billion of our U.S. dollars, will rely on a massive infusion of government funds to get the ball rolling on the project, of which the taxpayers will own 51%. It will then be transitioned into a reliance on public sector investment, and the government plans to sell of its stake in the project within five years. It is expected to bring 37,000 jobs to unemployment-hindered Australia,

The one detail not yet decided obviously is pricing—set the price too low, and private telecom companies are pissed; too high, and no one will adopt it. But 90% fibre coverage for a country like Australia is an ambitious play (the other 10% will be served through an upgraded 10mbps satellite service).

Interesting reading the US’s take on the NBN. One point worth noting is that the Govt only plans on selling 5 years after it’s completed, which will be about 13 years from now…

[NYTimes]

The NBN Is The Biggest Hippie Lovefest Since Woodstock

Nick Broughall — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 04:22:36 +0000

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.

Government Decides To Build The NBN Themselves

Nick Broughall — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 23:50:28 +0000

So, it looks like we might actually get that NBN after all, despite it seeming like the neverending stall-ey (boom-tish). K-Rudd this morning announced that all five tenders from the private sector to build the NBN were a load of crap, so he, Conroy and his entire Labor Government posse has decided to build the damn thing themselves (with some help from the private sector).They’re creating a company, of which they’ll be the majority shareholder, to look after the network’s construction. All up, they’re expecting to invest up to $43 billion over the next eight years to finance the network.

On a positive note, the network will now be a 100Mbps Fibre-To-The-Home network, rather than the Fibre-To-The-Node that has been discussed throughout the tender process. That means faster and better connection for all of us, which is a great thing. Well, 90 per cent of us anyway – if you’re in that last 10 percent, you’ll get wireless or satellite capped at about 12Mbps.

And even though there’s speculation that Telstra will try and take the Government to court to try and delay or even stop the network (after all, they’re set to lose their stranglehold over the national telecommunications infrastructure, which means losing dollars), K-Rudd has stated that they’ll change legistaltion to stop the Telco from threatening the NBN’s success.

Building the network is expected to commence down in Tassie in July, with no word on when the rest of the country might be getting its fast network speed on. There’s also no mention of the pricing for end consumers either, so how much this network is going to cost you will be something we’ll be keeping a close eye on over the upcoming months.

Call To Arms: Stephen Conroy On ABC’s Q&A Next Week

Nick Broughall — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 01:04:00 +0000

Senator Conroy has a lot to answer for. Between trying to ~~destroy~~ filter the internet and keeping the whole NBN process clouded in secrecy (so nobody can criticise his handling of it, we suppose), there are a lot of arguments and issues that the Minister needs to answer for. And considering he’s going to be a guest on the ABC’s Q&A program next Thursday, this could be our chance to ask him the tough questions.So, this is a call to arms. All of you Gizmodians who are interested in asking why Senator Conroy has so badly mishandled everything he’s touched so far should head over to the Q&A website and ask their questions. Melbourne readers should also try and get into the audience for the show. And everyone make sure you watch Q&A next Thursday to watch just how Conroy responds to the difficult questions.

[Q&A - thanks Jordan!]

No Such Thing As Freedom Of Information For NBN

Nick Broughall — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 23:15:57 +0000

Remember the NBN? The Rudd Government’s promise to build a National Broadband Network for Australia so we all had ~~super-fast~~ faster broadband? Of course you do. But do you really care? Probably not, because like pretty much everything Senator Conroy touches, it seems to be waddling in a pile of its own excrement. More precisely, in this instance, Conroy refused to share any details on the report that suggests possible tenders for the network, therefore stopping anyone from scrutinising it. So Ben Grubb over at TechwiredAU decided to try and get his hands on the report using the good old Freedom of Information Act. Sadly, it didn’t work.Originally, expectations were high, after a request came back saying that the Government would release the report for the measly sum of $3,631.99. Being a small, independant publisher, TechwiredAU didn’t have that kind of cash, but iiNet came to the financial rescue, promising to fund the request on the provision that TechWiredAU made the report public.

Everything seemed to be sailing smoothly up until Monday afternoon, when their application was rejected (after the Government pocketed a cool $900 for their time, no less) for some dubious reasons.

The Government has reportedly announced that they’ll be announcing the winner of the NBN tender by March, which gives them less than two weeks. You can (and should) read the whole ordeal over at TechWiredAU – it will shatter any remaining confidence you have in this government’s ability to handle technology issues, but thats not a total surprise, is it?

[TechWiredAU]