[LINK] Study casts doubt on claims for broadband

[George Bray]

On Tue, Nov 30, 2010 at 7:35 AM, Richard Chirgwin
<rchirgwin at ozemail.com.au> wrote:
>> * Time and again, data that basic broadband brings certain benefits
>> is used to justify investment in fiber – but the investment in fiber
>> must be based on the incremental benefits of higher speed, since (in the
>> developed world) there is already near universal basic broadband

> Define "near universal". In Australia, this statement is wrong, both
> geographically and demographically. My quick estimate at DSL coverage -
> I'm not going to spend a day running a full geographic analysis just for
> an e-mail! - is that around 70% of households are close enough to an
> exchange for DSL to be worthwhile, and that's ignoring the presence of
> RIMs and other factors that block DSL delivery.

I came across a figure where I think the 93% fibre coverage came from.
 NICTA's R&D in conjunction with IBES says LR-PON (Long Range PON)
increases the reach of passive fibre runs from 20 km to 60 km from the
exchange.

http://broadband.unimelb.edu.au/main.php?id=159

However, I'm not sure that you can say if you're within 60 km of a
town you'll be on fibre.

I don't know much about PON, but presumably it's easy/cheap to go
further with active amps of some kind. Does anyone know if the NBN's
LR-PON model has been implemented anywhere else?

George