Australia to have fastest internet - by 2100

Sam Varghese
Tuesday, 07 April 2009 06:26

Business IT - Networking

Whenever we talk of having some kind of network connectivity that makes us look like the western nation which we are touted to be, the usual excuses are trotted out.

Stuff like it's a vast country - forgetting that Canada has much better broadband than we do and the terrain is equally as difficult to cover.

But when it comes down to actually putting fibre on the ground, politics takes over. The tendering process takes a few years, people run out of money, and the promises begin again.

Building a network that is good enough for the 21st century will take at least six to 10 years. Labor knows that - and is also aware that it can serve as a means to get re-elected twice.

There's a good selling point - you never know what those sneaky Coalition people might do. They may even replace the fibre with copper again. Some people will even believe rubbish like that and put a tick in the box that denotes Labor.

When the government talks about "fast-track" what does it mean? Something similar to the talkfest we've had after Labor was voted in? Or putting in place a communications policy that is geared towards actually building something?

Maybe having a communications minister who has some kind of a technical background would be a good start, not a man who is obsessed with blocking websites because of some flimsy excuse or the other, mostly because it is a good vote-catching tactic.

He seems to be unaware that Singapore contemplated something similar to his grand plan - and then gave up because it would require most of the population to be employed in carrying out this task.

I heard some minister talk about wireless as part of the solution to fast broadband this morning. Boy, has he ever used the technology? If wireless is the saviour, then I have a new technology to sell - it's called BS-to-BS.

Five years from now, I'll probably still be sitting and waiting a few hours for a Linux DVD image to come down the pipe. That is, if the power supply doesn't fluctuate and the telephone lines hold up.