{"id":3204,"date":"2013-04-12T16:19:37","date_gmt":"2013-04-12T06:19:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/australiansforhonestpolitics.wordpress.com\/?p=3204"},"modified":"2019-04-13T23:24:16","modified_gmt":"2019-04-13T13:24:16","slug":"3204","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/3204\/","title":{"rendered":"@sortius on how and why the Coalition’s NBN policy is designed to fail"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Created by BushfireBill @BushfireBill<\/p><\/div>\n

By\u00a0Kieran Cummings<\/a>\u00a0(@sortius<\/a>)<\/p>\n

April 12, 2013<\/p>\n

Since the release of the Coalition’s broadband policy on Tuesday <\/a>it has become clear that the policy is designed to fail. Even if taken at face value it is clear that the plan will not be able to meet its targets.\u00a0So why devise a policy destined to fail?<\/p>\n

One simple answer is to keep the ‘free market’ free – free from regulation, free from anti-monopoly legislation and free from responsibility.<\/p>\n

The policy itself is made redundant by the three separate reviews the Coalition is planning for the NBN – a strategic review, an ‘independent’ audit and a cost\/benefit analysis. Having these codified into the policy ensures that no matter the promises made, the Coalition can build a case to limit or even cancel the rollout, or cancel it in line with its 2010 election policy, using its long-running austerity narrative.<\/p>\n

Who will do the reviews? \u00a0I’d guess Peter Costello. After his Queensland Commission of Audit, we can assume that the Coalition intends to use the same tactics to remove any case for change to Australia\u2019s telecommunication network.<\/p>\n

This will set Australia back decades under the guise of ‘economic management’. With broadband speeds barely reaching 13Mbps on average<\/a> in Australia, & Akamai\u2019s data transfer caps reaching a measly 4Mbps<\/a>, the Coalition cancelling the NBN would have dire consequences for Australia\u2019s digital economy.<\/p>\n

Who will benefit from a negative outcome? The people who benefit from slower broadband speeds are legacy content providers like Foxtel. With over 70% of the population covered (but only 30% subscribed) to Foxtel\u2019s pay TV service, the NBN is a direct threat to their business model.<\/p>\n

Recent developments in the IPTV (Internet Protocol Television<\/a>)\/OTT (Over The Top<\/a>) market in the US and Europe mean Foxtel can see that its days are numbered as a virtual monopoly. The only way to prevent ‘cord-cutting’, a term used to describe disconnecting pay TV services, is to stymie broadband development.<\/p>\n

The NBN\u2019s plan to decommission Telstra\u2019s HFC network that Foxtel runs on ensures that competition is fostered amongst smaller players in the content delivery market. Murdoch\u2019s press has been very vocal against the ‘wasteful’ NBN since 2010, leading me to believe there\u2019s more to the Coalition’s plan to deliver substandard services to Australian consumers than meets the eye.<\/p>\n

The main take-away from Murdoch’s speech at the IPA last week was less regulation, less fostering of development and more ‘freedom’ for corporations.\u00a0The idea that developing national infrastructure is ‘placating a nation’ is laughable, as there has been little to no development of broadband markets by private organisations over the past decade (transcript of Murdoch’s speech below).<\/p>\n