There is a big debate going on around the value and business case for the NBN.
It would be good for Upper Kedron to have much better Internet access. For the rest of us in the upper Kedron Brook valley the NBN is unlikely to make a huge difference but we may pay more for telecommunications.
A few points that resonated with me:
There is no point in getting data fastr than any computer can download it.
With $53 billion ($43 billion in NBN construction costs plus the $11 bilion Telsta sweetener) the government could buy all of Telstra (for about $40 billion) and have $25 billion to upgrade Telstra’s existing cable wireless and copper infrastructure and buy core infrastructure from other players.
Why doesn’t the government spend the $43 billion on a solar project? Imagine putting locally designed and made solar panels on every rooftop in Australia. This should create a new industry that will help reduce electricity bills and emissions.
If a resident does not take up NBN fibre and Telstra’s copper is decommissioned then they will lose their telephone connection unless they go to wireless.
If the government goes ahead and forces everyone to join its NBN then what happens to Optus and other communications businesses? Do we return to a telco monopoly?