[LINK] NBN widening digital divide in bush

[Tom Koltai]

Actually Richard, and others.

As being an individual that has criss crossed the Northern Territoriy,
the top half of WA and most of the Gulf country, (occassionally
installing VSAT terminals for the Telecom 2000 project (in the mid
eighties) and Iterra Trailers... in remote communities and for the
Ambulance and flying Doctor Services), I can honestly say that I can
visualise fibre in those little outback communities. 

And the numbers not only warrant it, they demand it.

Let us assume the average Australian (employed) earns 1.5 million in
their lifetime. Let us further assume that taxation is at 27%. 
A 200 member community with 50 persons paying tax for forty years equals
$20,250,000 in consolidated revenue.

Fibre is $80/lm to lay.

Let us assume a Fibre requirement in Boroolola, N.T.
[-16.037895,136.306915] which is about as remote as you can get in
Australia.

Cost of Fibre Trenched anext the carpentaria highway = $76,320 (approx) 
Add 100K for really difficult conditions...          = $100,000
Cost of Transmission Equipment = $12,400,000 (approx) 
Cost of CPE per home = $300 p/h (approx)

Total Cost of Fibre to all homes in Borooloola ?   $12591000

Value to community of a high speed broadband enabled education, health,
entertainment and social benefits ?   

So actually, the only reason the fibre isnt going to places like
Boroolola is that our politicians cant see the benefits of opening up
the vast open under developed regions, even though the project would
obviously fund itself....

After all, the only people living there... Well, they probably don't
vote, so they probably don't really matter...

Ya know, I though about it for a few seconds. You guys are all correct. 
With no broadband, they won't get educated, so they will never get the
jobs to pay the taxes. Might as well make it someone else's problem...
Maybe the next government to come along...
Let's just give them more of what they have had for the last thirty
years. Broadband VSAT!!!

Gee, that will energise those country folks.....

What a pile of self serving, utter claptrap!

The country is where we need the Fibre. Not the City. In the City we
need Wireless. Expanded ad-hoc ISM, 2.4 GHz style handheld wireless


Tom.




> -----Original Message-----
> From: link-bounces at mailman.anu.edu.au 
> [mailto:link-bounces at mailman.anu.edu.au] On Behalf Of Richard Chirgwin
> Sent: Saturday, 16 July 2011 6:34 AM
> To: link at mailman.anu.edu.au
> Subject: Re: [LINK] NBN widening digital divide in bush
> 
> 
> On 14/07/11 3:20 PM, David Boxall wrote:
> > On 13/07/2011 1:15 PM, Birch, Jim wrote:
> >> ...  It doesn't make economic sense to take a fibre to 
> every anthill 
> >> in central Australia.  There's a cost/benefit trade off. ...
> > Are economic considerations the most important? What was the cost 
> > benefit trade off in laying copper to so many remote locations? Was 
> > cost benefit analysis even done?
> >
> > If the anthill has copper, it must eventually get fibre. The fibre 
> > network should then continue growing to ever more remote places.
> >
> David,
> 
> There still remain many small places without copper. They are 
> connected 
> via Telstra Digital Radio Concentrators for telephones - and the only 
> Internet access option is satellite.
> 
> These communities are a couple of hundred individuals living 
> hundreds of 
> km from the nearest Telstra exchange. However much we might 
> like it, I 
> can't see fibre reaching locations like that.
> 
> RC
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Link mailing list
> Link at mailman.anu.edu.au 
> http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/lin> k
>