That's quite a laundry list of what you require nanny to do for you, sonofgloin.

But what's this?

>>5. Take care of the existing infrastructure and build new infrastructure when needed.<<

Ummm. The NBN is communications infrastructure.

So where's your problem?

With this type of negative thinking about technological advancement I'm amazed that Telstra ever bothered to invest in anything beyond the magneto phone and overhead phone wires, let alone mobile telephony. (Which itself has been replaced and upgraded several times already with little public hysteria).

The chances of optical fibre being suddenly outdated in the forseeable future are ridiculously remote. The original fibres that Telstra laid 29 years ago are still in service and operating at speeds that were previously unimaginable.

Also, what is the possible business case for building Teaching Hospitals anyway? Hospitals are a drain on public funds and create no profits at all. That's what public infrastructure is.

Wobbles,

The fibre to the house is like delivering a 6 inch water main. It can supply your entire monthly needs in a few minutes, but mostly the tap is closed to a trickle.

TPG is offering unlimited access at about 12Mb/s for $30pm which is less than half what you will pay for 25GB under the NBN.

If this is so competitive, why is it necessary to remove the existing lines, and create legislation to forbid anyone from building alternative local lines?

The tax payers will be paying a huge premium for this service for many decades.

As for obsolescence, mobile phones are more expensive than land lines, at a lower quality. However, more than double the calls go through this media.

Wobbles,
I think what we've got to ask ourselves with communication is, who are the main users of this supposedly even faster service. Not revenue producing companies that's for sure. The main beneficiaries will be the mindless masses of dumbcrap music & junk mail merchants. They're already clogging the system now & they'll clogg the new system also. Not much revenue coming from them & no benefit to the country either. I'm using Telstra wireless broadband for the past 3 years & more often than not I'm either down to basic speeds or lose connection altogether. I have no problem if users pay for an NBN but as per usual the junkies will free-ride & clogg it all & we'll still be frustrated with down times. This may be negative thinking in your eyes but until we have a user pays system it'll prove to be yet another huge waste of good funding. Also, what is the back up plan if the NBN goes down ? Our local supermarket has chaos when the EFTPOS is down for 5 minutes. Just imagine how easy it would be to bring the whole country to its knees if lets itself to become so utterly dependent on this technology.

There's your problem, individual, right there...

>>I'm using Telstra wireless broadband for the past 3 years & more often than not I'm either down to basic speeds or lose connection altogether<<

Change your provider. I have been Telstra-free for several years, and next to giving up cigarettes, it was the best personal commercial/financial decision I have made. The speeds are good (I also have an ADSL2 connection, so I am aware of what "good" means in this context), and dropouts are very few and far between.

I'm pretty sure we will look back on this in a few years time and wonder what the fuss was all about. Sure, they'll get the initial pricing wrong. Any time a bunch of public servants are involved in estimating future traffic that will happen... did somebody say "Clem Jones Tunnel"?

But it will settle down.

The Water Main analogy is a good one to illustrate the difference between fibre and wireless.
You may get reasonable water pressure at various times of the day but when everybody in the street has their taps on at the same time, that's when wireless speeds slow to a trickle (which is what Individual's wireless experience demonstrates).

Not so long ago, 52kHz Modems and 20Meg Hard Disc drives were all that anybody would ever need.

As for changing providers, is most cases all you are changing is the interface at the Point Of Interconnect (ie the hardware at the entry point of the Telephone Exchange) and then going via the Telstra network anyway. In many other cases it's actually the same physical service all the way but merely wholesaled,rebadged and resold under a different name. Even those providers who lease capacity on the OPTUS network still get there through Telstras copper and duck in and out of their network as required.

It's the overall reliability and guarantee of availability that you are really paying for, not just speed.

I have no intention of driving around the country but my taxes help pay for the National Highway network. I don't frequent all the Parks, Swimming Pools and Art Galleries in my Municipal Council area but I'm still charged for them through my rates.