[LINK] NBN support for wireless femto-networks

[David Lochrin]

On Saturday 27 November 2010 12:15, Tom Worthington wrote:
> In any case, what is clear is that the National Broadband Network is 
> intended as a fixed service. This is a major flaw in the project's 
> conception. The NBN is a Fibre To The Premises (FTTP) network, but 
> almost all the customers will be using a wireless link to connect 
> their devices in the home, so it could be better described as Wireless 
> To The Customer (WTTC). This will require ad-hoc retrofitting of 
> femtocells to provide the wireless service the customers want. 
> It would be better if the system was designed with this requirement 
> in mind.

This is certainly an NBN architectural issue.  But IMO it is a highly justifiable aspect of the NBN concept, not a flaw.

The NBN is intended to be a macro distribution network which enables retailers to gain access to customers, but one which has the simplest possible interface to all users.  Why?  Because the complexity & cost of the NBN would increase in a spectacular fashion if end-user technical support were required.  The NBN would become a super-ISP with ~20M customers and a multitude of service-level agreements which sat between the actual service providers and their customers.

Furthermore, if the NBN supported end-users' "femto networks" it would necessarily impose preemptive technical constraints on the technologies which might be used in such networks in future, even assuming agreement could be reached on which one to use now.

-- 
This is another issue, but I think connection of anything & everything to the internet would create such complexity it would be just foolish.  Yes, the power utilities could control when various appliances are allowed to run in order to manage the load (for example).  But wouldn't it be fun when some part of the network failed and thousands of refrigerators slowly warmed up just before Christmas?

What havoc could be created by ingenious malware!  It would put Stuxnet to shame.

David