[LINK] The PLAN, and broadband speeds?

[Karl Auer]

On Sat, 2007-06-23 at 09:04 +1000, rchirgwin at ozemail.com.au wrote:
> Let's see. I know some people who live outside hamlet called Windellema 
> in the southern highlands. Line of sight, I guess they'd be 10 km from 
> the nearest likely spot for any kind of base station. Nobody can 
> seriously propose that a location like that should have fibre strung all 
> the way to the house. So what's wrong with a moderate wireless as a 
> replacement to dial-up?

Funny - at some point someone strung copper all the way to that little
hamlet. I wonder why? I wonder who paid for it? Or do they not have the
phone on?

Funny- at some point someone ran power all the way to that little
hamlet. I wonder why? I wonder who paid for it? Or do they not have the
power on?

Funny - someone ran a road all the way over to that little hamlet. I
wonder why? I wonder who paid for it? Or do they not have a road in to
their little hamlet?

> Here's the choice:
> - Go from dial-up to WiMax, and get a share of a moderately-fast channel.
> - Wait until someone decides to run a 20 km fibre run for a tiny handful 
> of customers, which might never happen.

You forgot the third option: Run fibre to that little hamlet. At
taxpayer expense. And to all the other little hamlets. The cost will be
way less in real terms than the cost of power, telephone or the road to
those little hamlets was.

Alternatively, implement community service obligations with teeth. If
the telcos want those great big sweet apples in the cities, then they
have to supply every little hamlet - yup, regardless of how far out -
with the same service. Yup, the *same service*. And if that makes the
telcos no longer viable - well that's just fine too. The Government - we
the people - get to snap up all that infrastructure for a song, and go
back to doing it *right*.

Regards, K.

-- 
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Karl Auer (kauer at biplane.com.au)                   +61-2-64957160 (h)
http://www.biplane.com.au/~kauer/                  +61-428-957160 (mob)