[LINK] Resilient Broadband Network needed for Australia

[Richard Chirgwin]

Tom Worthington wrote:
> This is to suggest that Australia's new broadband network be designed 
> to be usable to warn the public of emergencies, to allow them to call 
> for assistance and to be used in disaster recovery.
I would suggest otherwise. If the physical layer (ie, copper cables, 
telephone exchanges, fibres) is disrupted, then the next layer up (PTSN, 
broadband) is irrelevant. So the debate is, IMO, not about a "resilient 
broadband network" but a resilient access layer.

But how much resilience on the consumer telecommunications access 
network is sufficient? For example, we could say "the country needs a 
fully redundant access network all the way to the home" - but in a 
natural disaster of any scale, say a flood, that redundancy will be of 
no use, since you lose both links.

At "natural disaster" scale, fixed networks are not resilient - which is 
one reason that radio communications remain of high importance.

RC
>
> The Australian Strategic Policy Institute has released the report 
> "Taking a punch: Building a more resilient Australia" 
> <http://www.aspi.org.au/publications/publication_details.aspx?ContentID=165&pubtype=6>. 
> It argues that recent disaster planning has overemphasized terrorist 
> attacks, which are unlikely and more effort should be devoted to 
> natural disasters, which occur frequently in Australia. They suggest 
> the community needs to be resilient to deal with disaster themselves, 
> rather than assuming that if they call 000 someone will come to help.
>
> The authors also point out that VOIP communications may make Australia 
> more vulnerable in a disaster:
>
> "VOIP (voice over internet protocols) technology is becoming of much 
> greater importance so there will be challenges in reaching those who 
> rely on internet access for all communications."
>
> From: Strategic Insights 39 - Taking a punch: Building a more 
> resilient Australia, David Templeman and Anthony Bergin, Australian 
> Strategic Policy Institute, 7 May 2008
>
> The Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy 
> issued a Request for Proposals to Roll-out and Operate a National 
> Broadband Network for Australia: 
> <https://www.tenders.gov.au/?event=public.atm.show&ATMUUID=3B2F3C6A-C522-FE70-2190C9696025DA26>. 
> It is likely that consumers and businesses will replace their wired 
> phone services with VOIP over this new network. Most VOIP services are 
> currently not designed for emergency communications, nor to operate 
> during a mains power failure. The RFP asks about provision of battery 
> backup of the equipment and also mentions emergency calls, but this is 
> priority 16 out of 18.
>
> I suggest that the NBN needs to address resilience of the broadband 
> network as a high priority and plan for its use in emergencies. ICT 
> can improve on the voice telecommunications system to provide better 
> facilities for emergency warnings and disaster recovery, if this is 
> planned for. The community can be participants, not just as victims in 
> disaster recovery, using this network.
>
> See also: E-government for emergencies: dealing with a bird flu 
> pandemic using the wireless web and podcasting: 
> <http://www.tomw.net.au/2005/wd/birdflu.shtml>.
>
>
>
> Tom Worthington FACS HLM tom.worthington at tomw.net.au Ph: 0419 496150
> Director, Tomw Communications Pty Ltd ABN: 17 088 714 309
> PO Box 13, Belconnen ACT 2617 http://www.tomw.net.au/
> Adjunct Senior Lecturer, ANU
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