[ProgSoc] National Broadband Network approved

jedd jedd at progsoc.org
Wed Apr 8 01:56:23 EST 2009


On Tue Apr 7 2009, Anand Kumria wrote:
> Likely the 100Mb limit is what current switching technology is able
> to handle when you have 100s of customers potentially connected to
> the same switch.

 The last gig I did, it was next to impossible to find 100Mb switches
 anymore, especially in large scale gear.  GbE is about all you can
 get - certainly it's cheaper than old shelf item 100Mb stuff.

 My feeling - not conspiratorial - is that 100Mb sounds good, is
 relatively easy to feed, is a sufficiently big jump over what
 most people have now, and provides a very easy upgrade or
 'premium service' option for the GbE stuff down the track, when
 the gov or marketroids are looking for something to win votes
 or make more money with.

 FTTN was always going to be 'very good' - the leap to have fiber
 into each house .. well, that was an interesting move.  The claim
 that FTTN was only going to satisfy until 2020 is something I'd put
 in the same category as having every house wired with Cat-5 a
 dozen years ago - it doesn't just ignore changes in technology,
 it relies on them not happening.  

 Coax's capabilities are pretty impressive, and although I'm not
 going to do a 640k is enough for anyone line, I suspect that with
 current usage trends, coax could have lasted a bit longer than
 another 11 years.

 But of course, fiber is better for any number of reasons.  I did
 hear from a friend back in AU that Telstra's prevarications had
 stalled this project until September 2009 - is that still the case?
 He also reckoned that when they went from 95% coverage to 98%
 coverage the cost doubled - $5b to $10b - not including the gov's
 $5b pot of course.  I'd like to think that my humble abode is part
 of that last 3% .. but I worry that it might be part of the other 2%.

 J.




More information about the Progsoc mailing list