NBN: Govt dismisses Turnbull's UN assessment

James Riley
Monday, 20 September 2010 18:34

IT Policy - Government Tech Policy

Malcolm Turnbull's claim that a UN report on broadband had undermined Government's plan for a fibre to the home National Broadband Network was based on a narrow reading of its findings and a misunderstanding of the technology being utilised. That is the response from the office of the communications minister.

Mr Turnbull, the newly-appointed communications shadow minister leapt on a section of the UN Broadband Commission for Digital Development report that recommended Government's remain "technology neutral" as the best way to avoid risk and ensure their broadband networks were future proof.

But a spokeswoman for Communications Minister Stephen Conroy's office disputed the Turnbull assessment, pointing to UN findings that over-reliance on wireless technology was risky and could damage a country's future performance prospects in emerging online economies.

Senator Conroy, who was appointed to the UN Broadband Commission last May, was in New York today for an international panel discussion on broadband that was to coincide with the release of the report.

The spokeswoman for his office said the report stated there is a role for a variety of different technologies - wireless, fixed wireless, satellite and optical fibre - depending on a factors ranging from a country's prosperity to geography.

The NBN uses a mix of wireless and satellite technology to complement fibre to the premises roll-out, which is based on the needs of Australians as well as the geography of our nation.

She said the UN report identified fibre as the as the optimal medium for performance as well as future proofing, a conclusion backed up by the NBN Implementation Study authors McKinsey and KPMG as well as local experts.

The UN specifically rejects an over-reliance on wireless technology as a cheaper option with false economies and an unrealistic technical pathway forward.

"Despite the lower barrier to entry, faster payback periods, economies of scale and inherent convenience  in mobile networks, countries could not 'just make do' with mobile broadband as their access network of choice without running the risk of being condemned to a low speed path in the future information economy," the broadband report said.

"Malcolm Turnbull wants to condemn Australia to a low speed future where we will miss out on the massive productivity benefits in health, education, and environmental sustainability by vowing to 'demolish' the NBN," Senator Conroy's spokeswoman told iTWire.

Mr Turnbull, who was appointed Opposition communications spokesman a week ago, has argued that by his reckoning the value of the network when its construction is completed will be considerably less than its cost - effectively destroying the value of a chunk of taxpayers' investment in the project.

"There is no argument about the importance of broadband. The issue here is simply this: is the construction of a $43 billion NBN without any business plan or cost benefit analysis a responsible investment by Government?," Mr Turnbull said.