atw: Re: National Broadband Network issue
- From: Rod Stuart <rod.stuart@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:52:31 +1000
Strange how a point of view that opposes the standard group think is
labelled as "sceptical" nowadays.
In any event some of us 'sceptics" might have actually bothered to read
Conroy's NBN implementation plan, as well as the Senate Committee's report,
and might actually have understood those documents. Some of us sceptics
might actually be aware of the risks outlined therein. Coupled with the
current administration's deplorable track record of waste and reckless
abandon (reference the 3.6 billion dollar home insulation scheme debacle and
the 8 billion dollar schools rort) some of this scepticism might actually
arise from factual evidence rather than daydreams of the benefits of
allowing this mob to proceed with yet another pork barrelling political
stunt.
On 19 August 2010 11:16, Peter G Martin <peterm_5@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> A couple of "sceptics" here seem to have latched onto the facile argument
> that the NBN is about having more time for people to download movies. It's
> the equivalent of saying we have a telephone network today so people can
> spend all day talking to each other on the phone and not doing any proper
> work (an argument that was raised about establishment of phone systems).
>
>
> Of course this is nonsense. Increased bandwidth may be used for movies in
> some instances... including movies of things like business and academic
> conferences, university lectures, training sessions for increased workplace
> productivity -- which don't sound as trivial as people wanting to download
> movies for entertainment. And in each of those cases, there are
> opportunities to reduce travel and transport costs, CO2 and other pollution,
> which some of us see as important.
>
> But it so happens that our "phone" system today is of huge advantage to
> private businesses like banks, insurance companies etc etc etc. When we
> get increased bandwidth (there isn't really much doubt about it) private
> sector businesses will be first on the "socialist" bandwagon for more
> business transactions and data exchange. Hell, some of them might even be
> able to get around to electronic funds transfers that don't take 3 days to
> work their way from one bank to another ! (Why do I doubt that? Ok
> they'll have the capacity, if not the will.)
>
> I've spent years documenting uses of the internet that have nothing to do
> with movies. And each and every system I've worked on documenting has had
> issues at some point or another with capacity and bandwidth, even as the
> bandwidth available expanded up to 10 times or more.. So conservative
> thinkers might consider that things will stay pretty much the same... we
> have found uses for the phone system in the past to the point where its
> carrying capacity has had to have been increased exponentially. That
> process is bound to continue, if we look at parallel developments overseas.
>
>
> *Gee, why would you ever want to use more than 640k of RAM in your
> personal computer ? Just so the kids could play more of those computer
> games ?*
>
> Meanwhile, those who advocate the "free enterprise system" which of course,
> has its benefits as well as its disasters, might note that a general
> requirement usually seen as a condition for "freedom" in this context is the
> avoidance or restraint of monopolies. We happen to have a case where a
> single company has been handed 75% of the national communication grid. This
> same company is also a supplier of services over that grid, in "competition"
> with others who have limited access.
>
> Whatever you want to call that, it ain't "free enterprise".... it's
> entrenched monopoly, and the governments of both major persuasions who
> contributed to that situation stuffed it up. And both of them have a
> responsibility to try to restore some balance.
>
>
> -Peter M
>
>
>
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--
Rod Stuart
6 Brickhill Drive
Dilston, TAS 7252, Australia
<rod.stuart@xxxxxxxxx>
M((040) 184 6575 V(03) 6312 5399
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