[LINK] Senator Coonan on 7:30 Report

[Richard Chirgwin]

steve jenkin wrote:
> I can't bear to look...  The Senator is making a fool of herself.
>
> Really doesn't understand the technology, the industry or 'what's this
> broadband thing'??
>
> And she's not very good at spin either.  Her minders are either letting
> her down, or they've not got very good talent to work with. Claimed that
> broadband wasn't generally available or desired until 2004. What bunk!
> It's all about cost.
>
> It looks and smells like catch-up - on the cheap. Wouldn't answer how
> the Libs plan was better/different to Labor.
> Came out with a classic (something like) - "Glad we didn't do this 2
> years ago. The technology wasn't available then."
>
> The bulk of service is going to be metro - FTTN. Where are the plans for
> FTTH?
> 100Mbps is commodity hardware over Fibre.
>
> And the really BIG question didn't get asked or answered: What's it
> going to *cost*? Particularly Volume/excess pricing.
>
> BTW: I didn't know that WiMax was ratified/agreed or chipsets available.
> And they're saying at 5.8GHz.
> "It'll work in the shed" - only the one near the tower, but not under it!
>   
Steve,

Certainly 802.16 is solid enough to work fine, and ratified for long 
enough. WiMax certified products started arriving January 2006. Mobility 
is on the "real soon now" list, but that's another story.

As always, we have a tradeoff between end-user speed, number of end 
users, distance, and cost. In particular, long distance is going to be a 
hassle here, since at 20km you service fewer users at lower speeds - 
both of which will make the service more expensive (and therefore hungry 
for subsidy).

I have heard Wilson Tuckey, who really needs a concrete mouthguard to 
shut him up, going on about the service not being able to deliver 
equivalent cost/performance to very remote users that now have to use 
satellite. News flash: someone  on a cattle station who's four hours 
from the nearest service station is *never* going to get an equivalent 
service, no matter  who complains or how loudly!

RC
> Comments anyone?
>
>