22Oct 09
NBN should be free, says economist
Posted by Phil Dobbie @ 10:42 13 comments
Play or download the Twisted Wire podcast below:
Embed podcast:
Joshua Gans from the Melbourne Business School says the media are missing the main game when they keep harping on about the need for the NBN to make a commercial return.
He says the social benefits are the real story, no one is going to make money from selling access, so it should be given away from the start. Independent consultant Kevin Morgan has a different view. He says the whole project lives in the realm of fantasy and secrecy.
These are just a couple of the views expressed at the Senate Select Committee on the NBN's public hearing in Melbourne earlier this month (7 October). In this half hour summary of the one day talkfest you'll also hear from:
- Greg Wyler from 03b Networks says low orbit satellites can provide the backhaul
- Elizabeth Barnet from Vernet doesn't want the NBN to be built without considering the high bandwidth needs of the education and research sector
- Folks from Ballarat ICT Limited tell us what a great place it is to live in — did I miss something?
- John Dubois & John Weston from Senatas ask for encryption to be built into the network
- David Ryan and Sharon Tonkin from the Grampians Rural Health alliance talk about the benefits they're seeing from their own regional fibre network
- Brad Wynter from Whittlesea Council had the foresight to put conduits in greenfield sites, but the carriers still wanted a subsidy to build.
See the full line-up of the day and transcripts of all sessions here.
You can listen to our other podcasts of the Senate Select Committee on the NBN: Sydney 3 March, Canberra 4 March, Canberra 1 October. Got something to add? Be sure to leave your comments, and be nice to each other please.
1%
4%
Someone in the podcast uttered the above words of common sense.
Most of the rest was vendors talking about what they had to sell to those NBN folks with AUS$43 to spend.
I guess that was the point of the Podcast.