Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Australia's National Broadband Network To Go Ahead

Posted by timothy on from the beware-coriolis-effect dept.

angry tapir writes "After weeks of a hung parliament following the Australian federal election, the incumbent Labor Party has garnered enough support among independent MPs to form a minority government. Broadband was central to clinching the independents' support. Labor's victory means the $43 billion National Broadband Network will push ahead. The policy has generally been popular among ISPs and telcos — though some rebel operators preferred a policy that emphasized wireless technologies, similar to the proposals put forward by Labor's opponents. The primarily fiber-based NBN is set to offer Australians 1Gbps broadband."

12 of 222 comments (clear)

  1. What filter? by DMJC · · Score: 5, Informative

    Greens/Liberals/Independants hold the balance of power and are all dead set against the filter. It's a dead scheme stop mentioning it. There will be no mandatory net filter in Australia. The ETS and mining tax are probably also going to get blocked. They don't have the numbers to pass that sort of legislation anymore.

    1. Re:What filter? by Eskarel · · Score: 4, Informative

      While I agree with you, it's important to remember that the Liberals haven't actually said they won't support the filter. Joe Hockey has said they won't support the filter, but he is neither the leader, nor the communications minister.

      That said, the filter was always a dead scheme, which is why Labor never tried to push it through.

    2. Re:What filter? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      Actually, I attended the National IT Debate just before the election and the liberal minister for communications did explicitly say that the Liberals were against the filter and would prefer to return to the old Howard policy of providing filtering software for free that people could install on their own computer (and thus not affect others)

    3. Re:What filter? by dakameleon · · Score: 3, Informative

      Enough with the FUD.

      The NBN is already being rolled out around Australia, and is available through much of Tasmania. It hasn't got a filter. The filtering is a separate piece of legislation that doesn't have the legs to get through the new parliament, with the Opposition and the Greens opposing it.

      It also does not exist under the exclusive executive oversight of the government. It is being set up along the lines of existing government-sponsored enterprises such as Australia Post or Medibank Private; furthermore, while the government will have a controlling stake the intent is for half the company to be privately owned & funded. The "$43 billion" headline figure only includes $26 billion of government funding, with the remainder expected to be raised from the market.

      NBN Co is ultimately responsible for the infrastructure, but the internet service provision is not part of its mandate - they might be providing the pipes, but it's ultimately up to the ISPs still to deliver the actual internet. See the NBN plans offered by iiNet in Tasmania, for instance.

      As for the idea that you could go back to using "normal ADSL" through the "private network", that's wrong too. The whole idea here is to rip up the old copper wherever possible and replace it with fiber. That is the dramatic dividend this will provide - telephony is going to totally change in Australia. That's what $11 billion is going to Telstra for.

      Get your facts right before you parrot this FUD.

      --
      Man who leaps off cliff jumps to conclusion.
  2. Re:What's the point... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    We can do anything anyone else can do with it.

    The "small breasted porn" issue is incorrect sensationalism, and the idiotic filter idea - which was never going to get through the senate previously - will now not even make it past the house of reps, so I'd be very surprised if we heard anything about it again in the near to medium future.

  3. Re:Australian... with questions here by p3anut · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1511009 That will help answer your question.

  4. Great outcome from Election by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    NBN (Fibre Network) is supported by:
    All independants
    The Greens
    Labor Pary

    Therefore it is guaranteed to pass throught the upper and lower houses :)

    Censorhip is supported by:
    Labor

    Therefore it will not be able to pass through either house of parliament unless the Liberal/National Coalition switch their position (which wouldnt surprise me)

  5. Re:Question for Aussies by sortius_nod · · Score: 3, Informative

    But they aren't, that's the problem. They're neo-cons these days. Someone like Malcolm Turnbull would be a true "Liberal", Tony Abbott (the guy who knifed Malcolm Turnbull to run the Liberals) is definitely a neo-con. They run the party these days and cop a lot of shit from Malcolm Fraser (one of the Liberal greats) for it.

  6. Re:Help! Get the Vaseline! by KingKaneOfNod · · Score: 4, Informative

    4. Australians will stick with their (possibly) slower current technology services when given the alternative of a faster, but significantly more expensive solution.

    Not possible. Remember that "agreement" that the government reached with Telstra? They agreed to "sell" their customers to NBN Co. when NBN rollout is complete in an area. This means that once NBN is available in your area you will be forced to use it or use nothing, because all alternatives will be removed by law.

  7. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 4, Informative

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  8. Re:What's the point... by batkiwi · · Score: 4, Informative

    1. NBN is not a government department. I really wish people would understand how the NBN is structured, it really is very important. It will not be run by dept of innovation or any other department.

    2. Government departments rely on legislation as a backing and don't make unilateral decisions. It more works the opposite of how you describe. If there is legislation stating that they MAY do something, then they might or might not. If there's no legislation stating that they may then they won't.

    An easy example is the immigration department. The law states that the minister MAY grant citizenship if you fall into X/Y/Z categories. Based on this legislation:
    -if you fall into X/Y/Z immigration department might or might not grant you citizenship
    -if you do not fall into X/Y/Z categories, the immigration department WILL NOT grant you citizenship. They are not empowered to even though there's nothing in legislation stating they can't.

    You're obviously not a public servant...

  9. Re:Australian... with questions here by dakameleon · · Score: 3, Informative

    There's going to have to be take-up given the NBN involves ripping out all the existing copper, so there's no ADSL for it to compete against.

    So if we crank that up to 100% it drops to $60. Or, y'know, have a look at the current plans: http://www.internode.on.net/residential/broadband/fibre_to_the_home/nbn_plans/

    --
    Man who leaps off cliff jumps to conclusion.