Everyone – (and particularly media outlets) – has an opinion on the NBN. In a free democracy, having an opinion and being allowed to express it is a fundamental premise.
A opinion piece on the NBN by Frank Zumbo – (an associate professor at the school of business law and taxation at the University of New South Wales) – in this morning’s Fairfax press demonstrates this – but it would have helped if he knew what he was talking about:
| Future Of Broadband Going Down To The Wire |
“At the end of the day, a national high-speed broadband network is really all about access, convenience and affordability. What’s the point of building the most expensive fixed broadband network if it can only be accessed from your home?”
Say what? It can only be accessed from your home?
Frank should know – (by visiting the NBN website) – that it is designed for the home, and for businesses.
Where has he gotten this idea that it is only for the home? The premise of his opinion piece is fatally flawed.
The NBN goes to all Australian premises – homes, businesses, or otherwise.
Stick to business law and taxation at the University of New South Wales please Frank?
(UPDATED 08:18 04/07/2013): I have had a few more thoughts in regards to this opinion piece, and I think Zumbo is even “more wrong” about this than I first thought.
Others have suggested to me that Zumbo’s assertion that the NBN would “only be accessed from your home”, may actually have been a reference to a lack of consideration of “mobile broadband” in the government’s NBN plans.
Certainly, there is no consideration of this in the current NBN plan. Neither is there any consideration of this in the alternative Coalition plan. There has never been any suggestion that mobile services were or are to be addressed by the NBN.
We already have Telstra, Optus and Vodafone providing excellent 3G and 4G mobile data services to the Australian public. If you want mobile broadband, and that’s all you want – you are covered. Zumbo’s concerns – (if he was referring to mobile broadband) – are completely unfounded.
Whichever he meant, he has still gotten it all wrong.