Got this in my email today. Can any of the techies on the forum confirm or refute this??
Some Broadband Facts (True?)
NBN Broadband Facts
I am a network architect for one of Australia's largest Telcos - so I speak with some authority on this issue.
Here are the technical reasons this will fail :
1) fibre optic cable has a maximum theoretical lifespan of 25 years when installed in conduit. Over time, the glass actually degrades (long story), and eventually it cant do it`s bouncing of light thing any more. But when you install fibre outside on overhead wiring (as will be done for much of Australia's houses, except newer suburbs with underground wiring), then the fibre degrades much quicker due to wind, temperature variation and solar/cosmic radiation. The glass in this case will last no more than 15 years. So after 15 years, you will have to replace it. Whereas the copper network will last for many decades to come. Fibre is not the best technology for the last mile. That`s why no other country has done this.
2) You can not give every house 100Mbps. If you give several million households 100Mbps bandwidth, then you have exceeded the entire bandwidth of the whole internet. In reality, there is a thing called contention. Today, every ADSL service with 20Mbps has a contention ratio of around 20:1 (or more for some carriers). That means, you share that 20Mbps with 20 other people. It`s a long story why, but there will NEVER be the case of people getting 100Mbps of actual bandwidth. Not for several decades at current carrier equipment rates of evolution. The Core can not and will not be able to handle that sort of bandwidth. The 100Mbps or 1Gbps is only the speed from your house to the exchange. From there to the Internet, you will get the same speeds you get now. The Core of Australia's network is already fibre (many times over). And even so, we still have high contention ratios. Providing fibre to the home just means those contention ratios go up. You will not get better download speeds.
3) new DSL technologies will emerge. 15 years ago we had 56k dial-up. Then 12 years ago we got 256k ADSL, then 8 years ago 1.5Mbps ADSL2, then 5 years ago 20Mbps ADSL2+. There are already new DSL technologies being experimented on that will deliver over 50Mbps on the same copper we have now. $zero cost to the tax payer
4) 4G wireless is being standardised now. The current 3G wireless was developed for voice and not for data, and even so it can deliver up to 21Mbps in Australia. There are problems with it, but remember that it was developed for voice. The 4G standard is specifically being developed for data, and will deliver 100Mbps bandwidth with much higher reliability (yes, the same contention issues apply mentioned earlier). $zero cost to the tax payer
5) The NBN will be one of the largest single networks ever built on earth. There are only a few companies who could do it - Japans Nippon NTT, BT, AT&T, Deutsche Telekom etc. Even Telstra would struggle to built something on this scale. Yet we are led to believe that the same people who can't build school halls or install insulation without being ripped off are going to to do it ??? Here at Telstra, we are laughing our heads off !! Because when it all comes crumbling down, after they have spent $60+ billion and the network is no more than 1/2 complete, it will be up to Telstra to pick up the pieces ! (shhhh don't tell anyone, it`s our secret)
I don't know. Try Googling some of it.
All BS buddy.
1.- Fiber Optic cable connects the world, and there's underwater cable older than 25years still working great. Japan and South Korea have had it for a long time too.
2.- Point to point 100Mb, not point to every where.
3.- Copper lines are completely saturated there's no way to get more out of them... people have been trying for 10 years... ADSL 2+ was really developed by Alcatel in the 90's. 24Mb/s is a theoretical max... in reality ur lucky if u get 8.
4.- Wireless is farking useless... it has huge latencies, it's slow and electromagnetically pollutes.
5.- Telstra sucks balls and they've been abusing their monopoly... I hope they disappear.
cisco, stop listening to 2GB and think for yourself... Australia needs a new telecom network if it wants to offer new economy type products and services.
There's fiber optics criss-crossing the world and that's what allows you to call the US/UK for less than a local call on your mobile, and Indian call centres.
With high speed internet people in the bush would be able to tele/work, and instead of driving 80km to their local video store they could have video on demand.
Hospitals could consult globally, etc, etc, etc.
Copper network just can't cope with the ever increasing loads. We need it, and it will be good for Australia. Sure it may cost us an arm but with any purchase the sting soon fades while you enjoy the $hit.
AND it will do all of us much better than ALL those BILLIONS we waste on the military... F-18 Hornet 30yo plane 
.
If we want to cut down on our energy consumption we need better ways to work than to travel 10-150km a day.
Bandwidth between office for my company is a REAL headache for me.
If you do want progress shut the f**k up and go become an
I am very close to the centre of Bundaberg so I guess I would be connected to the central exchange here.
Bundaberg is a regional centre and I have ADSL2 connectivity. I am more than happy with the internet speeds I get.
When my son is in the next room playing on his X Box live and using the head set talking to his mates that tends to hog the band width and sometimes slows my browsing down a bit. Apart from that it is great.
What concerns me is that if what is said about the fibre optics is true, it will be a huge spend on something that will not deliver a real benefit to the average punter, most likely only benefiting large corporations in the big cities and is going to have be replaced in 20 years time.
Looks to me like another case of the little guys subsidising the big guys as happens with electricity.
No frant, I have not been sitting on it for days. It came to my inbox today and I am not trying to put my opinion across.
I just want to know what is fact and what is fake.
CONROY I believe is a total tool who is passionate about something he seems to know very little about.
The most dishonest salesman is not the one who rips your money off. It is the one who doesn't know what he is talking about.
If what FlySurfer says here is true:-
"3.- Copper lines are completely saturated there's no way to get more out of them... people have been trying for 10 years... ADSL 2+ was really developed by Alcatel in the 90's. 24Mb/s is a theoretical max... in reality ur lucky if u get 8.
4.- Wireless is farking useless... it has huge latencies, it's slow and electromagnetically pollutes.
5.- Telstra sucks balls and they've been abusing their monopoly... I hope they disappear.
cisco, stop listening to 2GB and think for yourself... Australia needs a new telecom network if it wants to offer new economy type products and services.
There's fiber optics criss-crossing the world and that's what allows you to call the US/UK for less than a local call on your mobile, and Indian call centres.
With high speed internet people in the bush would be able to tele/work, and instead of driving 80km to their local video store they could have video on demand.
Hospitals could consult globally, etc, etc, etc.
Copper network just can't cope with the ever increasing loads. We need it, and it will be good for Australia. Sure it may cost us an arm but with any purchase the sting soon fades while you enjoy the $hit.
AND it will do all of us much better than ALL those BILLIONS we waste on the military... F-18 Hornet 30yo plane ."
the NBN has to be the way to go. I am all for technology as long as we are not being sold a pup like the F-18 Hornet. The Navy is going to get a huge spend in the next few years too I have been told.
Re Telstra. After being badly ripped off by them 20 years ago, I swore I would never buy services from them again and haven't to date.
If the government is serious about providing connectivity to rural areas they would put the services there before the capital cities. The cost of installation has to be way less in rural areas.
I'd like to know what mailing list Cisco is on. I bet there's a lot of sales managers who'd kill for a copy of that list.
Koreans are getting 1Gbps (google it) by 2012, the rollout already started.
Copper won't work for the bush unless every 1 lives within 10kms from an exchange.
Our large exchanges are obsolete.
Our copper infrastructure is obsolete.
Fiber to as many house as we can will connect Australia.
Personally I think fiber in the cities/towns is enough... chances are the country folk won't know what to do with it.
Sure 15Mbps is enough for a lot of people, if you don't want high bandwidth services... but it isn't for a lot of people and won't be for even more as time goes by.
Australia has DOCSIS 3.0 which will give u ~50Mbps if you can afford it.
Cisco what speed you really getting: www.speedtest.net
Cisco the great majority of people derive no benefit from the great majority of crap our selected "leaders" waste our money on.
Hospitals are for the infirm, yet we spend HUGE amounts on it...
We really need 1Gbps internet.
if the entire system was new then what is being said is true. fibre is faster and better.
but, the entire system is not new.
i live in an area with fibre, yet until a month or so ago i could not get better than adsl. the weakest link is the weakest link.
Ive been reading this thread with a smile on my face... I have been employed in the Broadcast TV industry (for a long time) and use fibre optic cable on a daily basis both "Black fibre" and "Blue fibre" as well as local fibre.
Black Fibre is [point to point] cable that needs to be secure like the Police, Banks and TV Stations use to transmitters etc.
Blue Fibre is not as secure and goes to some switching point ie; a feed from a sporting venue then goes to a control centre and then directed to whoever needs the feed Networks 7or 9 or 10 or SBS or Foxtel etc or even combinations of those.
Most of the sporting / public venues in Adelaide have had Blue Fibre installed for 15+ years and is still working brilliantly with NO signs of degradation or failures. In-fact one region of a suburb close to the city area (the film / video / creative hub) is laced with massive amounts of Black + Blue fibre and has been for years.
If glass fails in about 25+ years let me call a glazier rapidly my house windows are about to fall out.... I think not!!!
Do we still use the original phone system? no that has been replaced over the years as technology allows, no more of those girls "putting your call through now, please hold" or maybe like in Granddad's day of party lines!
Does Qantas, Aust Post, Police, Fire Dept, Ambulance or ANY business still use its original equipment 20 or 30 years on?... I doubt it.
Do we ALL need a high speed broadband I doubt it, yes it would be nice and it would be of HUGE benefit for SOME businesses but perhaps a better balance of expenditure on ALL public resources would be a better spend, hows the roads and hospitals in your area?
