For what the NBN will mean tomorrow, look at AARNet today

Stuart Corner
Friday, 18 September 2009 06:06

IT Industry - Strategy

Australia's academic and research network today provides bandwidths well in excess of what the NBN will deliver, and cutting edge applications that exploit that bandwidth. CEO, Chris Hancock says they provide a foretaste of what the NBN will deliver to consumers and other users a few years down the track.

Think having a huge high definition video screen in your home that allows you to be 'virtually present' at important family events in a relative's home at the other end of the country, or to have a virtual consultation with your doctor.

According to Hancock, homes now have broadband services averaging between 1Mbps and 20Mbps of bandwidth, and research and academic institutions today 1Gbps, with some having upgraded to 10Gpbs. "We think that by 2017 [when the NBN is due to be completed] the NBN will be delivering between 50 and 500Mbps with an average of 100Mbps. Then we will be delivering between 50Gbps and 250Gbps over AARNet...We have to dwarf the capacities the commercial networks provide because we have to support leading edge applications."

And, he said these leading edge applications show that "The NBN is all about video" citing as an example OptiPortals, very large high definition video displays created by arranging multiple standard HD displays in a grid and driving them with suitable software.

"There are about 10 of these around Australia now," Hancock said. "We have one, CSIRO has one... What we are doing with OptiPortal is just the first stage of visualisation that is coming. In five or 10 years these things will be in homes...If you are talking between 50Mbps and 500Mbps these sorts of applications can happen.

"If you are ask me to paint a picture, it is this: you will go into Harvey Norman and buy a screen that will be part of your wall...As Larry Smarr [director of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology] said when he went to Tasmania [for the launch of the NBN there] 'the NBN is all about birthday parties'. It's about Aunty Marge from Rockhampton and Uncle Fred from Adelaide being able to join a child's birthday party. And this means that you will also be able to bring in your doctor and your health advisor."

He added: "The university sector is leading the way in visualisation, High definition today is 1080 pixels. They are already working with 4000 and 8000 pixels.