ABC Online has shut down comments on my broadband post before I could comment. As usual, there is so much mess there that I need to clarify things. So I’ll do it here.
- I am a Labor voter and will be so in the current election.
- I can do that because I am an Australian citizen. I just happen to live in Canada.
- Living in Canada is not a bad thing, it gives me a different perspective on some issues.
- One example of that is that broadband delivered over cable or 4G wireless is fast; much faster than what most have currently in Australia.
- I did not endorse the Coalition broadband plan. There aren’t enough details and I made a mistake endorsing a broadband plan before when the details weren’t secure.
- But it does move the debate forward which they didn’t do in the last election when they didn’t have a broadband policy other than to have no real government involvement.
- The key element of moving that debate forward was re-opening up infrastructure based competition from cable and wireless which the government is shutting down.
- They also put on the table that it is economical not to try and give everyone precisely the same service, and in the shadows, different prices.
- Neither party are doing what I would like to see and offer a free broadband service at 5-10Mbps. That would be an actual public good because it would allow government services to go on line.
- Both policies are horribly regressive. Massive expenditure on what is primarily a private good as evidence from Korea has demonstrated. It is, frankly, shameful.
- If it were done properly we would have money to spend on other things, for instance, improving the horrible way in which our schools are preparing our children for the future.
Core Economics 
Remains so ABC to shutdown comments which are, or may become, inconvenient to their theologies…
The NBN for Australia will be great only for those really committed to freedom of expression.
Those seeking obstructing the availability, restrict internet access by others remain those who require all maintain their “one true” ideological approach to everything.
“Taliban” luddites may be found everywhere and anywhere… while they use the internet liberation for their purposes they reject it being available to others. For they fear so greatly other minds learning for themselves…
Learn, learn, learn until the day we die, else we become the walking dead !
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Separate issue the NBN and broadband infrastructure.
Why NBN policy not clearly presented as priorities, is a typical political result keep public confused as alternate even disordered views then easier to present.
Logical approach to building NBN remains to ensure fibre-optic connection points first between all current exchanges, then to all current sub-exchanges, then to street connection points, then to every building and user.
With requirement new developments jump straight to complete fibre-optic.
NBN needs easy to find simple videos showing how fibre-connections made for each of the above, so all understand where is difficult, or as easy as plugging into a power point.
Sentiment supports the idea of offering a free broadband service at 5-10Mbps as an actual public good to enable communications and government services online to be available to all, as logical eventually for this to be part of the service.
Need to assist all understand costs are reasonable estimates, or actual contract prices, of costs to provide fibre connection from point to point where distances are:
1 km,
5 km,
50 km,
100 km,
and 500 km.
Q: are costs higher in laying fibre-optic or joining two fibre-optic cables ?
Many currently NOT to be serviced under the current NBN proposal ? whilst many of these do regularly help themselves, yet find this information not so easy to locate.
Is difficult to consider options without practical costings.
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Well disagree with 11. but you can see what framework I operate from in my gravatar.
I would like to hear more on 10 and why it is primarily a private good – isn’t it largely considered to be a public utility these days? Both policies are regressive – in an economic context like a flat tax or in a social context like it doesn’t really provide the best though it could?
Your ABC piece did appear to be an endorsement of the Coalition broadband plan – whether that was an editing error by the ABC or a lack of clarity I don’t know. This leaves whatever your intention was ambiguous at best.
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Joshua,
Points 1, 2 and 3 are irrelevant to the policy argument and, sadly, they look like an effort to schlepp favour with what is our largely left-wing academic community. Hey, you don’t need to be loved.
The only substantial points in your note are 4, 7 and 8. Let’s hear more.
Points 5, 9, 10 and 11 are your idiosyncratic personal political views, about which (frankly) few care.
Lift your game.
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