National broadband thingy!

[Baldie's Mum]

Can i ask a really stupid question.....

What is the point of this national broadband thingy??? I know i live in sydney so, my broadband is good....But what does it mean for regional areas?? My cousin lives in outback NSW and her broadband is very fast......

So, who does this effect? How is it meant to make australia a better place to live? How much is it costing the tax payers???

[Baldie's Mum]

Oh and it needs to be in laymans terms!!!

[Lemonhead]

Im glad you started this thread because I have NO idea what the heck it means.

I thought they were giving everyone free internet :laughing:.

[Baldie's Mum]

Im glad you started this thread because I have NO idea what the heck it means.

I thought they were giving everyone free internet :laughing:.

Oh i hope so! :laughing:

But considering this is one of the major labor promises.....i thought i betta find out what it is! :D

[The Fox]

I dunno what it means but the guy at telstra said that it means we will be able to get broadband internet where we live.
At the moment we can only get wireless broadband which is expensive, slower and does not have high download allowances. We live 45 mins from the city and my step brother who lives two streets down from us as broadband but we cant get it.

[Hootenanny]

I think it is about making high speed broadband accessible to the majority of Australia, I think most people currently have access to broadband but at varying degrees, for example wireless might offer a fast service but is usually limiting with smaller downloads and if a lot of people in the same area are using wireless it gets very slow. Likewise with ADSL, if you can get ADSL2 it is quite fast but a lot of people are still stuck on adsl, like me, which is slower. more expensive and less downloads, and I am only about 20 minutes away from Newcastle. That said I think do far both major parties have managed to display how much they suck at sourcing and supplying a high speed network (and have managed to waste a small fortune in the process).

[Lemonhead]

Oh ok so we can get normal broadband. I know I pay for wireless now because its the only one available where we are.

[Baldie's Mum]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Broadband_Network

thats all i have found so far......So, we are spending lots of money on fast internet???:o (told you i was simple!)

[Lillynix]

Australia has slow and expensive internet compared to other wealthy, developed countries. From what I understand, the NBN will give the option of high speed internet to around 97% of Australians. At a cost of $42 billion, according to Labor.

[Baldie's Mum]

Australia has slow and expensive internet compared to other wealthy, developed countries. From what I understand, the NBN will give the option of high speed internet to around 97% of Australians. At a cost of $42 billion, according to Labor.

$42 billion!!!! ***faint***

Wouldnt that be better spent on our hospitals?!!!?

But in saying that....we do need to speed up (pardon the pun) to the other countries! :yes:

[Lillynix]

I understand Liberal have an NBN plan as well, but rather than Fibre to the home, it would be fibre to the exchange, at a cost of around $16 billion and providing it to about the same % of population.

Both I think were stating the same minimum speeds, but i'm not too sure about Liberals stance on it all *shrug*

[emmwill]

Helping us people in the sticks keep up with modern technology.

Yes we get wireless (wifi) but it is very dependent on the weather as to its speed. For this wonder of modern technology I am charged $90 a month for 6gb download limit. I could opt for a disc on my roof but it is slower and around the same price or I could use dial up and use my one copper phoneline for the net. I was quoted 3000 dollars to have a second line installed.

Both parties are offering a lot but the reality is that labour wanting to lay fiber optic will mean (if it happens) that the large areas will get theirs and in 10 years they will still be trying to get it out here. We still had a phone exchage here 22 years ago (for those who are interested you spun a handle and told an operator the name or number of the person you were calling. They would put a plug into a little wall and connect you)

Sorry for the ramble but I can just see us missing out again.

[Baldie's Mum]

http://www.liberal.org.au/Latest-News/2010/08/10/Real-Action-on-Broadband.aspx

I dont understand the big words! :o

[Baldie's Mum]

Helping us people in the sticks keep up with modern technology.

Yes we get wireless (wifi) but it is very dependent on the weather as to its speed. For this wonder of modern technology I am charged $90 a month for 6gb download limit. I could opt for a disc on my roof but it is slower and around the same price or I could use dial up and use my one copper phoneline for the net. I was quoted 3000 dollars to have a second line installed.

Both parties are offering a lot but the reality is that labour wanting to lay fiber optic will mean (if it happens) that the large areas will get theirs and in 10 years they will still be trying to get it out here. We still had a phone exchage here 22 years ago (for those who are interested you spun a handle and told an operator the name or number of the person you were calling. They would put a plug into a little wall and connect you)

Sorry for the ramble but I can just see us missing out again.

So what works for you best??? Labor or Libs? Or are they both as hopless??? :confused: I am not effected but i want to know how others are.

[CookiesRYum]

don't know heaps about it , but think it is needed..

Australian internet is APPAULING!! Ask anyone from o.s how it compares and you would be stunned - we just don't realise as it is all we have.

I have been told by a techy friend that the basic difference is Australian net operates on a CAPPED SYSTEM. While other developed countries work on UNCAPPED.

Apparently it is something about the system can only deliver x amount per second, while technically it doesn't have to be restricted and isn't restricted OS.

It is this imposed limits that makes it slow and unavailable at some locations.


I don't know if it was set up this way because we are stupid or because IP/gov wanted to control things and make money.. like I said I don't know much about it..

But it is really good thing to make us the same as the rest of the developed nation. It means business can compete on an international level. My sister lives in France and AU and does freelance marketing alot of which is web-based. She struggles to do her job when in AU because our internet is so pathetic.

Paying $70 a mth for internet that is still restricted and SLOW is criminal.

[smog]

it was my understanding that labor are promising a much higher lowest speed than liberal are. i thought liberals plan came with lowest speeds of that which we have now:confused:

[smog]

botw i heard a comparison the other day saying that when all we had was dial up everyone thought that was good enough and why bother upgrading to broadband. but now that we all(mostly) have broadband we cant belive we ever put up with dial up. they were suggesting that that this will be the same kinda thing, think it was on sunrise? i dont know much about it though sorry

[KatiesMum]

There are 3 main ways to get internet

- fibre optic cable ... which has a really really high capability, but is really expensive to lay

- copper cable ... is existing (telstra) network - but has limited capability and slows down considerably with more people joined up

- adsl/wireless ... which requires mobile towers, and also slows when more people join the network.

Currently our fast internet access is limited ... especially in rural and regional areas.


The Labor plan (the NBN) is to lay fibre optic cable on every street to be able to connect every home to super fast internet access.

The posative side is that it is 'future proofed' in that it will ALWAYS deliver super fast speeds, and will be fantastic for the higher and higher needs of Australians

The down side is the cost ($42billion is a LOT) .... and the fact that it will cost an enormous amount to connect to it, as each household who wants to connect will have to pay for fibre to connect to the network.

It will still cost a fair amount for downloads as it is nothing to do with your download costs .. is just about the speed of your connection.

The Liberal plan is to lay fibre to each exchange .. and then use existing copper wire and wireless network to connect to households. The cost of $6 billion is substanitally less, and will deliver a good speed to the vast majority of Australians. As more people join the network, and download more and more, we will need to rely on technology advances to improve the service - which is pretty likely.

Personally - I think that we are far far better off spending the extra $30 odd BILLION on needs (health, education, water etc) than wants (faster intenet).

As for comparing our speeds to other countries ... yes our internet is slower than South Korea and Singapore. They have high populations living in small areas. Laying fibre optic cable to service several hundred thousand people in a street containing high density apartments. Laying fibre optic cable to the streets of Australia is a vastly different proposal. Compared to the US and Canada (similar geographic areas, though even they have far higher populations) is much more realistic ... and we have roughly the same coverage and speed as they do.

[HowCrazyCool]

Here is an episode from the 7pm project,

Explains a tiny bit about it, skip to 4:40, its a little bit before half way.

http://7pmproject.com.au/video.htm?movideo_p=39696&movideo_m=36478

Ps. there isn't mucj information but sort of helped me.

[singlemumma82]

Can anyone explain to me why faster internet is better for the country than say fixing our water supply, or roads, or hospitals in rural areas?

i really don't understand why fast internet is such a selling point in this election :confused:

[sunnymummy]

Can anyone explain to me why faster internet is better for the country than say fixing our water supply, or roads, or hospitals in rural areas?

i really don't understand why fast internet is such a selling point in this election :confused:

From what I understand it is not for things like movie downloads etc but rather so rural people can access services that city folk take for granted. An example is when a sick person can "see" a specialist doctor in a city hospital to have a consultation wihtout having to travel long distances, often at great expense.
their records, test results etc can all be seen and they can meet the doctor.
For this reaon alone I think it is a great idea. :)

[Phyllis Stein]

The NBN will cost a lot, but the $43 billion was a 'worst case scenario' - Labor will rely on private sector investment to make up part of the necessary investment, just as the Coalition will for their plan.

One major problem I have with the Coalition's plan is that it will inevitably require upgrading and expansion, at enormous cost - they're just delaying the inevitable or trying to shift the costs to the private sector, which is highly uncertain and frankly, irresponsible when it comes to much needed infrastructure. The NBN, on the other hand, will be easily improved as needed, as the basic technology will be the foundation needed for any upgrade or expansion.

The Coalition's plan is so relatively 'cheap' not just because it's inferior technology, but because it will rely primarily on private sector investment, which many in the know are extremely skeptical about, going on the lack of private investment in telecommunications in the past.

The NBN is an investment in Australia's infrastructure - in fact, it *is* an investment in health, education and almost every other sector of our society! There will be so many applications that it will genuinely revolutionise our communication, with all the corresponding cultural, social and technical opportunities that go along with that.

It's not about making the average person's internet experience more 'pleasant', any more than laying new road is about making driving more 'pleasant'. Fast, efficient, reliable broadband is not a 'luxury', but a necessity for Australia to remain globally competitive in the future. The internet is not going anywhere and is becoming more and more central to people's lives in every respect.

One of my own hopes for the NBN is that it will enable Australia to decentralise - our cities are unsustainable and becoming unlivable. So many people express a wish to move to regional areas, but are stopped by the relative lack of employment. The NBN is essential to any move to reinvigorate regional areas and create a more sustainable plan for Australia's population.

The NBN is, IMO, perhaps the best and most visionary policy Labor has at the moment - it will be a HUGE waste of opportunity if the Coalition wins government and scrap it, as they inevitably would.

[Susan Mac]

The NBN will cost a lot, but the $43 billion was a 'worst case scenario' - Labor will rely on private sector investment to make up part of the necessary investment, just as the Coalition will for their plan.

One major problem I have with the Coalition's plan is that it will inevitably require upgrading and expansion, at enormous cost - they're just delaying the inevitable or trying to shift the costs to the private sector, which is highly uncertain and frankly, irresponsible when it comes to much needed infrastructure. The NBN, on the other hand, will be easily improved as needed, as the basic technology will be the foundation needed for any upgrade or expansion.

The Coalition's plan is so relatively 'cheap' not just because it's inferior technology, but because it will rely primarily on private sector investment, which many in the know are extremely skeptical about, going on the lack of private investment in telecommunications in the past.

The NBN is an investment in Australia's infrastructure - in fact, it *is* an investment in health, education and almost every other sector of our society! There will be so many applications that it will genuinely revolutionise our communication, with all the corresponding cultural, social and technical opportunities that go along with that.

It's not about making the average person's internet experience more 'pleasant', any more than laying new road is about making driving more 'pleasant'. Fast, efficient, reliable broadband is not a 'luxury', but a necessity for Australia to remain globally competitive in the future. The internet is not going anywhere and is becoming more and more central to people's lives in every respect.

One of my own hopes for the NBN is that it will enable Australia to decentralise - our cities are unsustainable and becoming unlivable. So many people express a wish to move to regional areas, but are stopped by the relative lack of employment. The NBN is essential to any move to reinvigorate regional areas and create a more sustainable plan for Australia's population.

The NBN is, IMO, perhaps the best and most visionary policy Labor has at the moment - it will be a HUGE waste of opportunity if the Coalition wins government and scrap it, as they inevitably would.

:thumbsup: :iagree:
It's not just about being able to download movies faster.

[KatiesMum]

Once again Phyllis - we will have to agree to disagree :p.

I honestly think the NBN will be a colossolly expensive white elephant (to use Liberals words).

It will be fantastic ... super fast internet for everybody. But it will be really expensive to connect to it, so the vast majority of Australians will not connect. (think about Telstra now .... it is unquestionably the fastest and best internet network - but not too many use testra because it is by far the most expensive).

In rural and regional areas - they wont have much of a choice. It will be connect to the NBN or get no internet (and you are right - essential services will be delivered more and more via the internet in the future).

But in cities where we already get decent service now, mostly people will choose the less expensive and slower services rather than the NBN.

As technology advances (which it does at an amazing rate) we will discover newer, faster and better ways to use the existing copper cable and wireless network (at a fraction of the cost to the consumer), and the national network will still not be used, except for big business ... and rural.

Surely it is better to still provide the services to rural and regional areas, but leave the cities where services are already acceptable to see where technology takes us.

I do object to spending enormous amounts of money on something we are likely not to need.