[LINK] NBN needed in emergencies

[Tom Worthington]

ABC Radio called at 8:10am asking for comment on the National 
Broadband Network (NBN): 
<http://www.dbcde.gov.au/communications_for_business/funding_programs__and__support/national_broadband_network>.

They wanted me to say that Australia was well behind the UK with 
broadband. I declined to say this, pointing out that if everyone in 
Australia agreed to live in Sydney, we would then have a similar 
population density to the UK and it would be easy to get them broadband.

One thing the NBN needs is a battery backup lasting at least 4 hours, 
so the system keeps running in an emergency. Failing to design the 
system for this would be unethical for ICT professionals involved in 
the project. The responsible decision makers involved, from the 
minister down would have to answer to a court if deaths result during 
a disaster. More on this next week: 
<http://www.tomw.net.au/technology/it/bushfire_warning_system/>.



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, Australian National University