back to article Overbuild threat drove NBN decision: Conroy

Australia could have had privately-built high-speed FTTN broadband, but for the roadblocks put in place by its incumbent carrier, according to an in-depth investigation into the history of the National Broadband Network by ABC programme Four Corners. Prior to the global financial crisis, successive Australian governments had …

COMMENTS

This topic is closed for new posts.
  1. Neoc

    Telstra...

    ..has been a blight on the Australian telecommunication landscape ever since it was privatised as a single *monopoly-holding* enterprise. Made a lot of money for those who bought shares at the IPO. Did nothing for the average Australian wanted a better/cheaper telecommunication network.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Thumb Down

      Conroy rocks

      So instead, let's introduce a new provider that has the same model as the old Telecom so that we do all this again in 10 years.

      Good work Conroy.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Government fail

    Wire up the schools, hospitals, sure. Mustn't forget the remote areas though because the farmer down the road really needs to get the weather report they so desperately require at lighting fast speed. Have they surveyed any farmers as to their requirements? Coming from a long line of farmers I can assure you, internet speed is not high on priorties.

    Oh wait, the 4 corners report, so you mean the kid trying to play on Miniclip. Last time I checked my mobile broadband I was getting > 6Mbps. For the average Joe this is more than enough. Make mobile broadband cheaper and connect up just the major cities. Look I've just saved a few billion dollars. Last night was nothing more than a 40 minute advertisement for the NBN negating any reality. If you believed the rubbish they put forward last night then I hope you earn plenty to pay for the increasing debt we will incur because the government has failed to plan.

    1. Mr Floppy

      last time you checked your mobile broadband?

      When was that then? When it was first released and it had one user?

      Why not just ban the internet for everyone and then you'll save even more money!

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    Lucky for us then

    Fibre to the node is a completely useless 'solution'.

    People who expect that the cabinets on every street will be nice and inconspicuous obviously haven't been following the outrage in the U.K. where this has been implemented.

    Anyone who thinks it will also deliver enough bandwidth for future applications probably agreed that '640 KBytes of RAM was enough for anybody'.

    Fibre for schools sounds great, but if a sick kid can receive satisfactory schooling at home over fibre, obviously a healthy one can too. I don't see schools as we know them lasting long after this roll-out.

    They will become offices and studios where lessons are prepared and presented, Kiddies will have to learn to do sport on their own time which should also provide a boost for local sporting clubs.

    Not to worry too much though, any company that needs clerical work doing and clogs the nations roads moving bodies to fill seats in a 21st century counting house will be looked at very meaningfully, so there's likely to be at least one of the parents at home teleworking.

    Oh yes, I see huge changes resulting from the NBN.

  4. l8rm8e

    The Rolls Royce of Broadband!

    I'm not sure why so many Australians are against Australians getting the best of the best, perhaps it's an inferiority complex borne out of convict heritage, or maybe simply noisy Sydney/Melbourne lucky folks with decent ASDL2+ coverage?

    Paul Turner makes a few good points ... we really don't know the full advantages of the NBN, but we can accurately predict the disadvantages of NOT having the NBN ... status quo. That's not acceptable from my POV.

    Telstra has been a thorn in our side for decades, I'm glad Conroy (for once!) has something intelligent to say.

  5. Alan Brown Silver badge
    Flame

    Telstra

    Monopoly, incumBENT. Same problem on the other side of the Tasman sea, different company, similar history...

    And the irony is they're both equally loud decrying the other's anticompetitive tactics on home ground.

  6. Joe Cincotta
    Grenade

    At least he is consistent...

    Consistently disappointing, moronic, wasteful, idiotic. Seriously, either you make a privatised 'retail' model with government owned infrastructure - or you don't. Telstra is just a mess. An agressive one at that... but my biggest problem with Conroy is the drug induced fantasy land he lives in. Fibre to the node??? What boob thought that was a good idea - the reason wireless broadband is the decrepit state it is in around the world and specifically in Australia is that carriers are oversubscribing to get 'coverage' in nothing more than a statistical sense. In reality though, WiMax and 5G will bring 'close to fibre' performance without the associated costs and meanwhile, Australia will still be fuckarsing about digging up everyone's streets whilst the rest of the world laughed at them and overtook them (once again) whilst their incompetent government bollocked them once again... Same story with the insane filter thing. Millions upon million wasted and for nought. The problem is not only Conroy mind you, it is that both major political parties seem to insist on putting muppets in to the communication portfolio and have done for the last 20+ years. What do you expect to see other than what you have just observed!?

This topic is closed for new posts.