Broadband Plan - Part 2

This is yet another letter I sent to the Australian that was not published:

After nearly 30 years working in the IT industry I am surprised that none of the analysts have pointed out some of the deep flaws in the Rudd broadband plan. The biggest issue Australian faces now is connectivity and bandwidth to the rest of the world. This is the reason we face download restrictions here and say Thailand doesn't. Without first addressing both the international pipelines and the download limits, speeding up internal connectivity does not help us in a competitive international environment. Terms like "a mere 12MBits/s" when referring to fast wireless are also misleading. Unless you are direct streaming high def movies to your home, impossible with current restrictions, then speeds of 100 MBits/s are meaningless. The majority of users would be perfectly happy with 12 MBits/s for a long time to come. For the most part 1-2 MBits/s would satisfy the needs of the majority. This and much faster speeds are already available. So instead implement a plan to provide connectivity to the rest, even as fiber. This would be a better use of time and money and it can be achieved for far less cost and in a much shorter time frame. Unless there is a focus on external connectivity first, and then the removal of bandwidth restrictions, implementing a 100 MB/s system, if is ever even achieved, is meaningless and useful for nothing other than a sound bite.

I have yet to see a single comment from the analysts pointing out some or any of these issues and of course The Australian isn't. Instead they have columnists who complain that this will be "another wire in the tangle on the telegraph poles." If you have ever been to Bangkok you will know just how absurd this statement is, and, fire is run underground not on poles. Of course since The Australian reporters rarely do any research this kind of comment is to be expected.