[LINK] Four Corners NBN

[Marghanita da Cruz]

David Boxall wrote:
> On 12/04/2011 12:53 AM, Frank O'Connor wrote:
>> Nice presentation, but seems to me that the 'rift' and conflict is
>> ideological and not based on communications/physics facts.
>>
<snip>
> 
>  From <http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2011/s3188338.htm>:
> STEPHEN CONROY: The market has conspicuously failed. The market cannot 
> deliver ubiquitous, cheap and affordable access to broadband across the 
> whole country. It hasn't happened, won't happen and it won't happen in 
> the future. John Howard gave 11 and a half years of opportunity for the 
> market to fix this problem, and it failed.
> 
> ...
>> Nobody pointed out that past major infrastructure projects ... from
>> roads and public transport, to telecommunications (in the days of the
>> old PMG), to hospitals and health, and the rest were all built by
>> government. ...
> 
> Actually, they did:
> DAVID KENNEDY: One thing I think we can say is that every big 
> infrastructure in this country - the electricity grid, the rail network, 
> the road network, the old telephone network - have all been built or led 
> by government on the sort of cross subsidy model that the NBNCo also 
> embodies.
> 

With regard to the PMG, the history of the Annandale Post
Office, which has so far survived the demise of the Glebe
and Camperdown Inner West of Sydney Post Offices is worth
noting.

Locals and their reps went to see the PMG in 1890 to demand
the land be secured. In 1894 to demand construction of the
post office and in 1899 expansion of postal services and a
telephone exchange (opened by Feb 1897). The photos of the
changing streetscape are worth checking out at:
<http://ramin.com.au/annandale/story-annandale-post-office.shtml>

And as for Sydney's Tram network (at one stage 2nd largest
in the world) was the victim of the Government introducing
buses. Sydney now has one privately run tram line, on an old
goods line, and buses run along the old tram routes. The
White Bay power station and electricity grid was constructed
to provide the electricity for the trams.
<http://ramin.com.au/eco-sydney/white-bay-power-station-rozelle.shtml>

Marghanita
PS for the record, I think underground fibre optic cable (or
fibre optic cable - of whatever hue) to every home is wacko.
Even Energy Australia, who are currently digging up our
streets (not footpaths) to lay conduits, run aerial cables
to homes. I doubt there is any plan to put the cables to the 
home underground as they recently upgraded them to Aluminium 
"to make them more robust" against the trees.
-- 
Marghanita da Cruz
http://ramin.com.au
Tel: 0414-869202