[LINK] The internet should be for everyone

[David Boxall]

It never ceases to amaze me that people are surprised when the Market 
doesn't deliver.
<http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/opinion/the-internet-should-be-for-everyone/news-story/bee4824b592fc32417e281f9d89c5e07>
> It was once hoped that the market would meet the demand for ubiquitous 
> broadband. Instead, as history showed, service providers only went 
> where it was profitable. Geographically challenged areas were left 
> largely unserved — especially in the bush.
>
> It was never going to be viable to build a broadband network covering 
> such a large country, or to deliver the sort of internet speeds that 
> will arguably be needed in the coming decades if we focused entirely 
> on the direct financial cost. Such an approach completely ignores the 
> broader benefits to the economy and our social fabric through greater 
> productivity in rural, regional and remote communities, better 
> national education and health outcomes, and the increased viability of 
> non-metropolitan areas as alternative and sustainable places to live.
>
> If we keep arguing about the costs over a four year budget cycle we 
> are unlikely to see a universally acceptable outcome. We need to be 
> building a futureproofed NBN that is seen as a critical long term 
> investment.

-- 
David Boxall                    |  Dogs look up to us
                                 |  And cats look down on us
http://david.boxall.id.au       |  But pigs treat us as equals
                                                    --Winston Churchill