ClassyJacket
9 months ago
This is great for me as an Australian because the past government changed the NBN from fibre to copper and instead of gigabit the fastest I can get is 25mbps that doesn't work when it's raining.
But no it's okay because they told me nobody would ever need more than 25 megabit ever. No possible application for greater speeds would ever be thought up, they assured us.
SavageBeast
9 months ago
The government always knows the right solution don't they! We really should put them in charge of everything.
smt88
9 months ago
My understanding is that the progressive party in Australia had a plan to bring fiber to a lot more of the country, and then the conservative regime that followed it basically demolished the plan to benefit a private corporation (Foxtel) owned by Rupert Murdoch.
So it seems the government was doing something good, but then the conservative party took power and was partially in the pocket of Rupert Murdoch, partially just against the government doing something useful.
razakel
9 months ago
The government can't do anything right when you elect people who believe the government can't do anything right.
Or, in other words, stop listening to Rupert Murdoch.
bigfatkitten
9 months ago
Fast internet won't help you build houses or sell rocks to China.
defrost
9 months ago
Wrong on both counts, in Australia at least - fast internet makes possible remote telepresence on brick laying robots and semi autonomous haul paks .. both of which we have here in Western Australia.
smt88
9 months ago
Fast internet increases the percentage of the country that's desirable to live in, which is an incentive for people to move there and demand new housing be built.
The more desirable small towns and rural places are, the less of a housing crunch there is. A lot of housing supply issues are due to rapid urbanization over the last few decades.
Big cities have skyrocketing housing prices while some small towns are literally paying people to move there.
bigfatkitten
9 months ago
You're correct of course, but that level of strategic thinking is well beyond those in charge. David Horne summed the situation up well.
"Australia is a lucky country run mainly by second rate people who share its luck. It lives on other people's ideas, and, although its ordinary people are adaptable, most of its leaders (in all fields) so lack curiosity about the events that surround them that they are often taken by surprise."