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G4EBT > INTNET 19.12.07 00:32l 163 Lines 6563 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : BD7330G4EBT
Read: GUEST DK3UD DK3HG
Subj: Broadband=Fraudband? VK2TV
Path: DB0FHN<DB0MRW<DK0WUE<GB7FCR
Sent: 071218/2215Z @:GB7FCR.#16.GBR.EU #:55139 [Blackpool] FBB-7.03a $:BD7330G4
From: G4EBT@GB7FCR.#16.GBR.EU
To : INTNET@WW
Ray, VK2TV wrote:-
> There are many places where wifi will work, but it's not most of rural
> Australia which is what makes the government's plan to provide
> broadband by wireless such a waste of money. Guess there aren't too
> many forests growing on the desks of the decision makers.
Although some months old, the clip below might be of interest, from the
blog of Chris Berg in Melbourne. He's Editor of the IPA Review, a Research
Fellow, and Director of the Media and Telecommunications Unit at the
Institute of Public Affairs.
Quote:
Broadband projects an embarrassing, expensive failure. Perhaps John Howard
is right - State Governments are stupid. When NSW Premier Morris Iemma
announced its ambitious program to blanket Sydney with WiFi coverage,
providing it for free to consumers, he explicitly referred to a San
Franciscan project as one to emulate.
But it is becoming increasingly apparent that the Californian project is
imploding. US internet provider EarthLink may pull out of San Francisco's
municipal WiFi project. Australian governments should take note - local
politicians are not always the best investors in communications
technology.
After the ACCC torpedoed Telstra's proposal to build a Fibre-to-the-node
network late last year - but before the major federal parties had
announced their intentions to simply pay for the high-speed networks
themselves - State governments one by one proposed their own solutions to
the broadband controversy.
Leading the charge, Peter Beattie proposed that a private firm finance,
build and operate a fibre-to-the-home network in Brisbane, but this was
little more than a wishful press release.
Other states drew on overseas broadband proposals. Western Australia's $1
billion fibre proposal was modelled on Alberta's SuperNet. By all
accounts, the Canadian network has been a relative success, but both
SuperNet and the WA plan focus on building network backbone to essential
services rather than piping internet direct to consumers.
Certainly, there are a wide range of international comparisons to call
upon. Particularly in the United States, local governments are taking
it upon themselves to get into the broadband business, with or without
private support.
But the experience has been rocky.
Local WiFi projects are often underutilised, underperforming, and
expensive. Local councils may assume that free broadband would be
popular, but one citywide project in Orlando, Florida was shut down
in 2005 when the city realised that only 27 people were using the
service per day.
Uptake rates have been more positive in other cities, but are in the
range of one to two percent of the population, comparing poorly with
the forecasted demand of between 15 and 30 percent.
The most high-profile network - and one which Iemma praised when
announcing the Sydney plan - has also been the biggest debacle. San
Francisco's joint venture with EarthLink and Google is no closer to
deployment than when it was announced in 2005. Indeed, the project's
failure was abundantly clear at the time when the NSW government was
examining it.
The Google-EarthLink plan has been derailed by political theatre and
contractual disputes. And even if EarthLink doesn't pull out, the network
speeds offered will be a paltry 300kbps - a speed which has been widely
derided in Australia as "fraudband". Contrast this with the 60 mbps
nationwide fibre-to-the-home network that Verizon is investing in at a
cost of US$18 billion.
It is tempting for politicians to offer things to their constituents for
free, especially something as popular as broadband. But local government
broadband projects are proving to be an embarrassing, expensive failure.
End quote.
The above is quoted under the following copyright terms:
You are free to:
Share, copy, distribute and transmit the work to Remix -
to adapt the work, under the following conditions:
Attribution. You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the
author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse
you or your use of the work).
For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license
terms of this work. The best way to do this is with a link to this web
page.
End quote.
Link:
http://chrisberg.org/index.php/archives/2007/08/22/municipal-wifi-in-austra
lia/
Most UK broadband ISPs offer speeds "up to 8Mbps" these days, but the
actual connection speed you get depends on the quality of your phone line
and the length of the line between your home and the phone exchange.
The majority of people on products that advertise 'speeds of up to 8Mbps'
achieve a stable speed less than 8Mbps. Acrroding to my ISP the speed
breakdown estimate for customers across the UK who are with an ISP that
offers speeds of up to 8Mbps is:
40% of customers will get a connection speed that is above 6Mbps
35% get between 4Mb and 6Mbps
15% get between 2Mb and 4Mbps
10% get a connection speed of up to 2Mbps
I'm quite close to the exchange and usually the speed I get in 7.2Mbps.
In the UK, the average price for broadband is about œ15GBP (about $35AUS)
a month with unlimited downloads. Less if you have a limit on downloads
of maybe 2Gb a month.
You can pay more for a higher "contention ratio", so that at busy times
(when gamers are on in the evening for example), your service level is
maintained.
I pay œ25GBP (about $60AUS) a month.
It's never skipped a beat in four years, touch wood.
Ofcom have just completed an interesting survey of the world
communications market which indicates that in some respects, the UK is
well ahead of other countries.
EG: UK internet is taking over from TV in terms of its reach and impact.
More revenue per head is generated from internet advertising in the UK
than in any other country, and it now accounts for 14% of the UK's total
advertising revenue - more than outdoor, cinema and radio combined.
In absolute terms, more than twice as much revenue was generated in
2006 from internet advertising in the UK as the combined total of
Germany, Italy and France.
That can, I suppose, only be because we get a reasonable level
of service and value for money from our ISPs in the UK.
There are well over 10,000 wifi hotspots in the UK, including Hilton
Hotels, Welcome Break, Roadchef, Costa Coffee, Starbucks, libraries,
airports etc.
Best wishes
David, G4EBT @ GB7FCR
Cottingham, East Yorkshire.
Message timed: 22:15 on 2007-Dec-18
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