[LINK] Ergas article in the Oz

[Stilgherrian]

On 29/06/2010, at 9:31 AM, Richard Chirgwin wrote:
> The least-understood aspect of the NBN is that it is completely 
> wholesale. There's no "why would I buy fibre", because (given the 
> Telstra / NBN Co deal holds) you won't buy the fibre.

This is something I really have trouble understanding too. We're more than a year into the NBN project. I can understand that the general public might not be that interested in the details. But there's still SO many people who should know better -- people who are paid to comment on this stuff, both in the media and in politics -- who miss this basic point.

If we are, as the headlines say, embarking on the country's largest-even infrastructure project, then surely the responsible course of action is for such people to do a bit of learning?

All that said, the first round of legislation presented by the government did give the Minister the option of allowing the NBN to get into retail at some point, depending on "market conditions". Folks should keep an eye open for that sort of weaseling.

Stil


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