Ben Barren hits the mark on Australian Broadband.
Both parties are offering 12 mbs post election, some time into the future. In the States they’re talking 100mbs.
Australia is already on the verge of becoming a backwater in terms of the internet. In 3-5 years time we’ll be worse off again if the US rolls out 100mbs internet.
Is this then a failure of Government, or do we just have failed Government full stop? As I sit here on a 1.5mbs ADSL connection which regularly drops (my home connection is only marginally better at 2mbs) knowing that around the world not only is everyone doing better, they have that choice (no ADSL2 in this neck of the woods).
You know, as much as I’m supportive of the mining industry and the great benefits it brings to Australia, and in particular Western Australia ($34b state trade surplus, 2.7% unemployment) the stuff in the ground isn’t going to last for ever, and neither is the boom in China thats driving it all. What then? What future does my son have in an planet wide information society that thanks to the failure of Government we are set to totally miss? Will the guest worker programs of 2007 be reversed in 2027 when Australians must travel overseas seeking work in the information economy because Australia has become bankrupt, a third world outpost that once had great promise, but missed the information boat? Will Australians one day flock overseas in boats, seeking refuge from this bankrupt nation, seeking better broadband speeds elsewhere?
