http://bit.ly/iXl599
But the idea that bandwidth supply creates its own demand is a vast oversimplification. It completely ignores the critical role of other factors such as price, quality of service, availability of applications and competition among providers.
And it turns out it is exactly these factors that in Korea are proving more powerful than mere availability of high speeds.
The latest figures from Korea Telecom reveal that after five years of rolling out fibre-to-the-basement (a far less costly version of NBN Co’s fibre-to-the-home architecture), demand for the highest bandwidth plans it enables has gone pear-shaped.
- Malcolm Turnbull, the Business Spectator, 16th Jun 2011
Holding a double degree in arts and law, it's obvious that Turnbull does not understand several important things which are critical to his position as Shadow Minister for Communications and Broadband. Namely anything to do with the technical details of the position, nor anything to do with the economic principles which he is arguing against.
Also being a firm member of the Liberal Right, he simply refuses to believe that governments as rule are capable of delivering anything but at the same time doesn't understand the basic concept of market failure.
Market Failure is a concept whereby the allocation of goods and services is not efficient; obviously there is nothing more inefficient than a total failure to provide any goods and services at all.
Telstra by it's own admission stated in a pamphlet in it's "BACK" Campaign in 2006 that it didn't want to invest in high speed broadband because Federal Government rules didn't allow it to. Whilst this was never tested in court, I suspect that this may have been a blatant lie because there wasn't even a hint at a suggestion as to what laws it would be infringing.
At the time the then Executive Phil Burgess, said that:
"Today we have a Minister for Communications who says there's no reason why we should be too concerned about broadband, after all 80 per cent of the people can get eight megabytes. Eight megabytes isn't enough."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/03/01/1860795.htm
The Minister for Communications at the time was Helen Coonan. Right through her tenure as minister from Jul 2004 to Nov 2007, Coonan was attacked and badgered by both Telstra and Optus in the media. Yet somehow through all of this, not a single yard of cable was laid with any capability approaching anything like the sorts of speeds which Telstra had complained about.
This is a perfect example of Public Infrastructure not being provided and illustrates exactly the concept of market failure.
Just this morning the final National Broadband Network agreement with Telstra is being hammered out as this post is being written and will be sent to Telstra's board for approval within the week and to Cabinet next week.
I think this also illustrates the point that for a project of this scope and size, only a government department has the capability of rolling it out; yet Malcolm Turnbull as the Shadow Minister appears to be willfully ignorant of what is going on before his very eyes. "LA LA LA I'M NOT LISTENING"
The truth is that in countries which are more friendly to having governments build things, real progess is being made.
French President Nicholas Sarkozy has promised that 70% of France will get 100Mbps Internet within 10 years. The thing is though, you don't have idiots like Malcolm Turnbull or even prize chump Tony Abbott to oppose the plan. When France says that it will build something on this scale IT GETS DONE.
One only needs to look at SNCF and their TGV trains which speed across France at more than 500km/h on regular services to realise just how stupid the stance by Turnbull actually is.
Even Spain despite its sovereign debt problems is aiming to build a national broadband network from scratch which will deliver a baseline of 1Mbps to all households within 24 months.
Heck even the United States which surely is the stalwart of free enterprise has "The National Broadband Plan" and although they might argue about Universal Health Care, even they recognised the need for Universal Service to broadband.
So important is The National Broadband Plan that the first point of the plan is:
"At least 100 million U.S. homes should have affordable access to actual download speeds of at least 100 megabits per second and actual upload speeds of at least 50 megabits per second by the year 2020."
http://www.broadband.gov
To be totally honest the US endeavours on rolling out its National Broadband Plan make our own NBN Co look hideously pathetic and small.
The truth is that Broadband will be the major networks and highways of the 21st Century, and yet somehow Mr Turnbull actively wants to keep Australia behind the rest of the world.
S.51 of the Constitution says:
"The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to:
(v) postal, telegraphic, telephonic, and other like services;"
I think that we should hold people like Mr Turnbull to account and ask him precisely WHY he wants to defeat the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth.
I suspect that his answer would only be "LA LA LA I'M NOT LISTENING"
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