[AusNOG] Katter backs Coalition - Windsor backs Gillard

[Lincoln Dale]

On 08/09/2010, at 7:32 AM, Bevan Slattery wrote:

> Again Lincoln - is that a need in the home.

needed?  no.  desirable?  probably.

would you have thought 10 years ago when a 42" plasma TV was AU$25K that plasma/LCD TVs would be the price they are today, literally 1/10th the price they were 10 years ago for something biggest & better?
how about that digital camera with 10+ megapixels would be practically entry-level cameras today?

i think its likely that there will be DEMAND for HD "videoconferencing" (if thats what its called by then) and no doubt the price point will be such that it'll be a low-cost add-on or already-built-in to your TV/phone/tablet/wall/whatever.


i think simplifying the NBN down to "its HD videoconferencing" or "faster internet" and that is all it is and all it could offer and all that it could ever offer isn't a fair representation of what it offers.
its but one tangible example of the sort of thing that could be enabled through higher bandwidth than what is commonly available today.

likewise, stating that 4G/LTE/wimax/3G and ADSL2+ could achieve an "equivalent" outcome at a lower cost point isn't an apples/apples comparison.  perhaps it could/does today - on paper at least - assuming that the copper in the ground continued to be maintained. but there's enough proof today that there are "broadband blackspots" even in areas that have multiple competitive DSLAMs in exchanges to demonstrate just the opposite.
clearly technology will continue to evolve - and the ability to do 'more with less' will continue.  but the raw capacity of fiber is significantly higher than that of the aging copper and finite wireless spectrum.

i do agree with you on concerns of the overall cost (to taxpayers).

likewise i can see that there will be two sides to the one coin "competitive" wise in what a NBN enables.

but much of that discussion is water under the bridge, seemingly NBN was the straw that broke the camels back (so to speak) on the the current government getting a second term and presumably a mandate to continue with the NBN in its current form.  i don't think its going away.


cheers,

lincoln.