[LINK] tRe: NBN white-elephant-to-be ...

[Kim Holburn]

On 2010/Aug/26, at 2:28 PM, Marghanita da Cruz wrote:

> Bernard Robertson-Dunn wrote:
>> This whole subject of wireless vs fibre has a distinct solution based
>> flavour.
>>
>> If you take a problem based approach you most likely to discover:
>>
>> *> Some people need access at fixed locations, and
>> *> Some people need mobile access.
>>
>> The solution, therefore, looks very much like:
>>
>> The NBN should have both fibre and wireless - depending on need, not
>> some ideology or technology driven solution preferences.
>>
> Thanks Bernard,
>
> Except that the debate is where to stick the wireless and
> fibre. Though those arguing for fibre to the home seem to
> have relocated their fibre to the CBDs, Mobile Phone Towers
> and undersea cables.

Because those towers, nodes need to be connected to something to be  
useful and what we use to do this today is fibre.

Here is an article that reckons that we could get 10Gb out of our  
current copper.  Written in 2006 it doesn't seem to have eventuated.
http://arstechnica.com/hardware/news/2006/10/7952.ars

Note that the potential bandwidth of fibre is much, much greater than  
this.  I think people have got 69Tb (Terrabits) out of a single fibre  
240Km long.  I expect that we will be able to get several orders of  
magnitude better than that in the future.

> I would like to also distinguish between mobile and
> wireless. Not all wireless is mobile (ie works while the
> connection is moving at any speed).

We still have some microwave links although I expect they are dying  
out .... because of fibre.

> I-Burst/Unwired/microwave was/is wireless but did not claim
> mobility.

I've used i-burst and it's fun but it's not serious broadband.   
Perhaps it might qualify as "Australian broadband" but seriously, we  
need to do better.

> Then there is satellite. Also, note analog TV was not to be
> mobile but radio was.


Not sure where you're going with that.  You can use radio while  
driving but TV?  Dangerous!  TV as such has simply not ever been as  
flexible as radio.  Not until youtube and broadband.  Not until 4G and  
skype.

-- 
Kim Holburn
IT Network & Security Consultant
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