While most of the country has been discussing the two possibilities for improving broadband coverage in Australia, a third way has emerged. And it’s being proposed and backed by a host of telecommunications entrepreneurs.
The NBN (National Broadband Network) was a big issue during the recent federal elections. It was one of the few policy differences between the two main parties that could be separated by more than a sheet of paper. It’s not an issue that decided the election, but then nothing was able to swing it in favor of one party or the other.
The election result meant the future of the NBN is still to be decided. And this has left room for a lobby group filled with some big-name telco chiefs to sweep in and propose a third option to those being promoted by Labor (which is pushing for the NBN to go ahead) and the Coalition (which is pushing for a cheaper broadband backbone).
According to ZDNet, The Alliance for Affordable Broadband has released a manifesto [PDF Link] which spells out its vision for what it’s calling NBN 3.0. The CEOs of companies such as AAPT, Pipe Networks, Vocus Communications, BigAir, Allegro Networks. EFTel, Polyfone are all on board.
This plan for NBN 3.0 essentially condones a fiber broadband backbone running the length of the country, with a 4G national wireless network filling the spaces in-between.
The fiber network will deliver broadband speeds of up to 1Gbps to schools, hospitals, and businesses, while the 4G network will deliver broadband speeds of up to 100Mbps to 98 percent of households. And all this for just $3 billion, compared to the $43 billion the NBN is estimated to cost and the $6 billion the Coalition’s backbone is estimated to cost.
The third way is often the best in politics, and NBN 3.0 certainly sounds good on paper. Labor clearly isn’t going to shift from its position but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Coalition adopted this plan as their own going forward.
