[LINK] NBN retail cost

[stephen at melbpc.org.au]

Greg writes,

> My experience with 3G is that performance is acceptable in metro areas 
> (mostly) but slow to non-existent elsewhere.  Low-end 3G plans may well 
> suit certain users with low download demands and a need for mobility, 
> but is that likely to be their only connection or will they also 
> expect to connect to a WiFi network when at home? And 3G is typically 
> only single user. A home network can be shared amongst multiple 
> users/devices, and with TVs, PVRs, game consoles etc. all becoming 
> network capable, high-speed broadband applications at home demand 
> performance that 3G/4G can't compete with.


Yes i certainly note your points, Greg. However i remain concerned that
unless our NBN offers good value for service, it might well not achieve
all that we hope, & for which our tax dollars are being spent to enable.

"Twenty five per cent of households consist of a person living on their
own.. there has been a rise in the percentage of couple families.. 35.6
per cent .. Couple families with dependent children now form a minority
of households.."  www.aifs.gov.au/institute/pubs/diversity/summary.html

Hmm .. so 60.6% of Australian households are just one or two people. It
seems that they might not want multi-port internet for years, if at all?

Here in country Vic my neighbour's a developer. His Optus BB works fine.

Sure, users-pay for our NBN tax investment, but lets encourage internet
take-up and usage with cheaper data than now. We've already paid for it
in taxes, and have years to re-coup. I want my tax dollars to be widely
utilized by lots of people and our NBN to be a huge and popular success.

Cheaper access should be a given, as with all technological development.


> home ADSL2+ plan with download limits in the 50-200GB range (depending 
> on ISP) can be obtained for around $50-$60. Divide that between 3-4 
> family users and it kills any 3G offering on price-per-user and 
> performance (although not on mobility). If NBN can offer higher speeds 
> than ADSL2 at similar or lower monthly subscriptions (as seems likely) 
> it should have no trouble finding willing customers, including all 
> existing ADSL customers for starters.
> 
> As others keep saying, wireless and fibre are complementary, not 
> competing, technologies. Horses for courses.
> 
> Greg
>
> On 2011/03/09 7:10 PM, stephen at melbpc.org.au wrote:
> >
> > It seems to me, unfortunately, it's very possible, that our NBN could
> > price itself out of consideration, for lots of Aussie broadband users.
> >
> > For eg:<http://broadbandguide.com.au/virgin-mobile/plan/1237-5127
> > mobile-broadband-1.5gb--usb-modem>
> >
> > The above is virtually-anywhere wireless broadband, with a free USB
> > modem, no set up fees, the Optus 3G/HSPA (Dual Band) Network, 1.5GB
> > of monthly shaped data, no excess usage charges, *for $19 a month*
> >
> > Or for $14 a month when it's bundled with a post-paid phone plan.
> >
> > Sure, it's 1.5G. But as some linkers know, i own/manage an FM radio
> > station within our 12 station network. (And now cover most of Northern
> > Victoria). Within our network, we relay signal from the studio with
> > the best DJ, and MP3 music around six hours every day, 7 days a week.
> >
> > In other words we stream audio for 42 hours a week between stations.
> > And none of us have ever gone over 1.5G / month. So, for normal MP3
> > use 6 hours/day around home, our experience 1.5G broadband is plenty.
> >
> > So, 3G broadband that's mobile with sufficient data, for dialup costs.
> >
> > That's $228 (or $168) a year for mobile broadband vrs $720+ fixed NBN?
> >
> > Perhaps somewhat of a no-brainer, unless NBN Co lower access costs?
> >
> 
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