[AusNOG] Aust Govt will build National Broadband Network, no company will be awarded the tender.

[Tom Storey]

> Last night I saw reference to 70% of the network being on power poles and
> only 30% underground. emm  I hope they don't get bush fires, cyclones,
> cars running into poles, garbage trucks pulling the cables down etc etc
> etc.

How is this really any different to the HFC networks rolled out by Telstra
and Optus, or the network rolled out by TransACT, other than by scale?

Surely they would be aware of these dangers, aka risks, and it would have
to be factored in as an operational cost as part of running the network
after building it.

But I do agree that if they plan to string a lot of this network up using
power poles, they might find it a bit tricky. I know that from recently
gained experience.

> however I suspect if it is built it will have other collateral
> damage.  ie the networks that have been built by others such as NextGEN,
> Pipe, UEcomm, Opticom etc etc.  In the meantime it will discourage
> investment.

But these networks are buit very differently and for much different
purposes and reasons than the FTTH/P network will be.

I.e. an enterprise isnt going to buy a couple of tails on this FTTH/P
network to interconnect their offices etc, local or interstate, (except
maybe the "cheaper" ones). There will always be demand for dark fibre and
other carrier data services such as those offered by the above mentioned
providers.

> Then there is the issue as to how much demand and how many applications
> currently exist to create the need for 100MB, but we won't go there, other
> than to say that building a 100 MB network to do what a 1MB network will
> do is like driving a 10 ton truck to do the grocery shopping.

How do you propose that HD video and other high bandwidth content, video
conferencing, multiple and HD IPTV channels, etc will be consumed with a
"1MB network"? This isnt the year 2000, we are past the stage of barely
broadband networks.

> My analysis would be that if Rudd is as keen as he is to build FTTH then
> he needs to buy/ re nationalise Telstra and build out the Telstra network
> and separate it etc.  That would be a cheaper way to do it.

Correct me if I am wrong, but didnt a previous generation of tax payers
fork out for what was the pre-cursor to Telstra, yet you seem to be
suggesting that a different generation pay for it all over again?

Tom