The filter, the future, the network; Can they coexist?

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WITH the Australian Government offering a contribution of 4.7 billion dollars towards a National Broadband Network, disqualifying one of it’s major players Telstra, and considering a Censorship regime; What’s next?

This is the question being posed by many involved with Australia’s telecommunications network. The issue that many in the industry are too afraid to speak out about, worried about the implications of what the Government is proposing, fearing it may jeopardise their chance for the Government’s tender.

With such a topic revolving around Technology, online forums are allowing for many to raise their points of view.

As we’ve learnt from previous experiences with Senator Stephen Conroy, he doesn’t like debate, with his media contact saying the following about the Internet filtering debate to Tech Wired…

“There’s a few lobby groups in the sector who are pretty keen to put their extreme views out there”

And Senator Conroy telling the Age that…

“I will accept some debate around what should and should not be on the internet — I am not a wowser”

Not a wowser indeed Mr Conroy.

Australia’s Government wants to deliver broadband services to 98% of Australians with a minimum speed of 12mbps. Via what method? Well the Government want a Fiber To The Node Network. The problem? It simply isn’t worth it right now, says Simon Hackett of Internode.

Simon has been one of the few corporate voices for consumers when it comes to the NBN, with him speaking out about it at two separate conferences, one with Senator Conroy in attendance.

Simon says that the Government’s NBN policy mandates “Full Node Cutover” to be necessary, and doing so will result in a Government mandated broadband and voice monopoly (xDSL and PSTN).

He says that there is an access problem though, and that today most ADSL consumers choose lower speeds than maximum available through economic constraints.

“They just want it fast enough,”

“There is nothing in the tender that actually says that ‘We’ll make sure consumers don’t pay more’, and that’s a little bit scary for consumers”

“After FTTN, there is no going back,”

So what is next?

Simon suggests the following four options:

“It is discussion time, but I put it to you that It’s not the discussion that it looks like. The decision is not how to go down this road and chose the manor of our own execution; it’s whether that is actually the right road at all”

What do you think the next steps the Australian Government should be undertaking?

You can read all of Simon’s thoughts @ his Blog.