Technology news and Jobs 
Telecommunications Australian broadband fails to make the grade for today's applications
Telecommunications Australian broadband fails to make the grade for today's applications | Australian broadband fails to make the grade for today's applications |
|
| by Stuart Corner | |
| Tuesday, 14 October 2008 | |
|
These parameters were grouped into three major categories: download throughput, upload throughput and latency. The team then developed a formula that weighted each category according to the quality requirements of two sets of popular applications: current applications and those expected to emerge in the future. Typical applications for today were listed as web browsing, social networking, music downloads, basic video streaming and video chatting, standard definition IPTV, and enterprise-class home offices. Future applications included consumer telepresence for communications, healthcare and education, high-quality video file sharing and streaming, high-definition IPTV, cinema-quality live event broadcasts and advanced home automation. The team determined that a broadband quality score (BQS) of 32 was needed for today's applications and a score of 75 for the set of future applications. Unfortunately they gave no indication as to the numerical value of broadband speeds or any other parameters in these scores. However, their results showed just over half the OECD countries meeting the BQS 32 threshold and Australia falling short with a score of 30. The US barely made it with a score of 35. Japan was well above the future threshold of 75 with a score of 98, the next nearest, Sweden rated only 54. The researchers noted that "Sweden and The Netherlands had the best performing broadband connections in Europe, a result of increasing investments in fibre and cable network upgrades, coupled with competition diversity, and supported by strong government vision and policy": factors that have been sadly lacking in Australia. Commenting on the results, Fernando Gil de Bernabé, managing director at Cisco's Internet Business Solutions Group, said: "This study gives broadband stakeholders, from governments through to telecom and cable operators and vendors like Cisco, as well as consumers, a better understanding of the importance of quality broadband connections. Without high-quality broadband, we will not be able to take full advantage of the next wave of productivity, collaboration and entertainment that can be gained from the web."
Get stories like this delivered daily - FREE - subscribe now
|
Tags
| < Next story in category | Previous story in the category > |
|---|
