[LINK] National Broadband Network - except it's not national.

[Michael Still]

On 5/12/10 12:53 PM, Gordon Keith wrote:
> On Wed, 12 May 2010 11:21:28 am Tom Worthington wrote:
>> Homes will need a powered fibre optic modem for the NBN. Rather than
>> have the householder plug a WiFi device into that, I suggest there might
>> as well be an NBN Co managed wireless device built into each modem,
>> similar to shared WiFi services:
>> <http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2009/11/wifi-share-service-to-supplement-nbn.h
>> tml>.
>>
>> Assuming 30% of homes have an NBN fibre connection and wireless cell,
>> that should be enough to provide wireless access for the remaining 70%
>> of homes in a suburb. As well as entertainment devices in the homes and
>> street outside, this could be used for smart electricity meters:
>> <http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2009/10/smart-electricity-meters-may-displace.
>> html>.
>
> And who pays for the power to the FO modem?
>
> If I'm paying for power to the modem at my house then it gets switched off
> when I don't want to use it. I don't like to waste power.
>
> Has anyone calculated the power requirements of the NBN for device not in use?

The technical name for what you're talking about is a CPE (Customer 
Premises Equipment). A random search shows up 
http://www.microsens.de/index.php?lang=en&nav=products&idn=161 as an 
example device. Its pretty fancy -- wifi, switch, two sip gateway ports. 
It ships with a 12 volt dc adapter, with a maximum output of 1.5A. 
That's 18 watts. At 14 cents a kilowatt hour, the device would cost $22 
a year to run if constantly left on.

Mikal