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Archive
Posts from 2004 to 2017. This was a personal blog during a fairly chaotic decade in independent publishing — some of it tech commentary, some of it Australia, some of it ephemera. It’s kept here in full for anyone who arrives via an old link.
Current writing lives at SiliconANGLE.
Where’s the NBN Debt Provision in the Budget?
As I noted last night, besides some small related investments, there was no additional funding allocated to the NBN in the 09/10 budget, leaving a $38.3b short fall. The Government has previously said that the NBN would raise money via infrastructure bonds, but wouldn’t these bonds count as debt? The on the books catch is […]
Blue Moon: NBN waited for you….
Oz: Telstra open to break-up TELSTRA will consider a voluntary separation of its wholesale and retail arms as well as the sale of some assets to the federal Government’s proposed $43 billion broadband network in a spectacular about-face that effectively dumps the aggressive four-year strategy championed by chairman Donald McGauchie and chief executive Sol Trujillo. […]
NBN as a TV killer? Unlikely
Mark Day in the OZ (via Mumbrella) IF we look through the increasingly clouded questions surrounding the Rudd Government?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s plans for a fibre-to-the-home high-speed broadband network, how it will be designed, who will build it, who will own it and what it will cost end users, one thing is crystal clear: this is a game-changer […]
Holy Smokes Batman: Telstra might be broken up!
Age:?Ǭ†Telstra set to abandon major cable upgrade In the aftermath of the Government’s decision last week, Telstra’s immediate task will be to rethink its investment in cable after it emerged that regulatory changes could include forcing the telco to divest the network which passes 2.5 million homes and businesses. Wow. Just wow. Should the Government […]
Whoops, NBN might not be feasible. The devil is in the detail
Steve Murphy in the Business Spectator: The 21st Century infrastructure equivalent of the Snowy Hydro is what K-Rudd says of his new Broadband plan, but will we end up flushing as much money down the fibre optic drain as we do water down the Hydro. The problem is we don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t know and the Government can?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t […]
NBN Questions: debt + international connections
Two questions 1. Does the $43billion include the cost of repayment of debt, or is it simply the cost of the actual rollout? Whether the Government directly borrows, or offers infrastructure bonds, both come with interest that needs to be repaid. The official release says “will invest” which could suggest that the $43 billion figure […]