[LINK] Beyond this project [WAS: Battery back-up mandatory for NBN?]

[Michael Skeggs mike@bystander.net]

David and Tom wrote:
>> It will still be handy to have a high speed fibre connection for
>> watching TV at home, or for business. But the major use of the fibre
>> will be backhaul for the wireless network. ...
>I doubt that the bandwidth of mobile devices will ever develop to the
>point that they become the major load on the NBN. The killer application
>is probably something none of us has yet imagined, but interference-free
>video and audio is one obvious possibility.

Tom has written these sentiments before. I think the model he
envisions is closest to ubiquitous wi-fi (or successor? WIMAX?) with
the bulk of actual devices connected wirelessly to a local device
connected by fibre. This is fine, it allows for lots and lots of
bandwidth to be available, and it will be needed,. but avoids the
technical limitations of using wireless for the last mile (instead of
in the home/office).
Wireless is not suitable for high bandwidth applications over any
great distance, or where there is a large population attempting to use
it simultaneously.
If anything, this is more grist for the mill that we should grab the
TV spectrum being freed up to take some pressure off the overcrowded
wifi band.

Regards,
Michael Skeggs
(Apologies if I have mischaracterised your comments Tom, and you are
genuinely opposed to the NBN)