Backwater On The Net

Newcastle Herald

Tuesday June 13, 2006

LEADER

"FRAUDBAND" is what some wags have dubbed Australia's version of broadband internet. And it is true that by world standards, this country's internet data transfer speeds and capacities are absurdly low.

Within this generally dismal spectrum of communication capabilities many Hunter communities find themselves at the bottom of the range, with access (or lack of access) to internet services that would disappoint the residents of some Third World countries.

This is disturbing, given the widespread prediction that broadband internet is about to undergo a global transformation with the potential to revolutionise telephony, movie viewing, television, music downloads, online gaming to name the most obvious areas of change.

As a general indication of Australia's poor preparedness for this revolution, some communities in England are enjoying the benefits of broadband internet transfer speeds of 2 gigabits a second. That's exceptionally fast, of course, but it indicates the potential that is available. Most UK internet users experience data speeds of between 2 and 13 megabits a second (Mbps). Other examples cited in a recent World Bank study are France (8.4Mbps), Germany (6.85Mbps), Canada (6.8Mbps), and the US (3.3Mbps).

For most Australians, internet transfer speeds barely manage to reach 1Mbps, a fact that has led many to describe the nation as a communications backwater. If Australia is a backwater, then by the same standards the Hunter must be a puddle. Some residents of such well-populated and long-established suburbs as Rankin Park are not able to access even the sluggish excuse for broadband that most subscribers have available.

The Hunter's puddle status is reinforced by the announcement by Telstra that the region won't be included in its proposed new generation, "fibre to the node" broadband network. Telstra has, however, been quietly investing in upgrading many of its exchanges in preparation for a possible launch in the near future of so-called "DSL2+" broadband services, which should be able to use existing copper wires to deliver data transfer speeds of up to 24Mbps.

It is hoped that Newcastle and Hunter exchanges have been included in this upgrade campaign and that the region will not once more be left to languish as the last among the last to benefit from the communications revolution.

Factional debate

THE debate about whether the ALP will dump sitting member for Newcastle Bryce Gaudry at the next NSW election in favour of the city's Lord Mayor John Tate highlights again the Labor Party's propensity for destructive factional brawls. Mr Gaudry, a member of the party's left, has suggested that the ALP's right-wing leaders have done a deal with Cr Tate, an assertion denied by Labor head office.

Whatever the truth of the matter, the factional arguments are of no benefit to Newcastle. Both sides in the debate should remember their task: to provide the best possible representation for the city and for NSW.

© 2006 Newcastle Herald

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