With unwavering confidence Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull unveiled the consultants report showing Labor’s ambitious plan to provide fibre–to-the-premises (FTTP) broadband to the vast majority…
Some technologies are easy to predict, but it’s easy to get the detail wrong.
mcscrooge54/Flickr
Although I’m a futurist, I have absolutely no idea what information and communications technology will look like in 50 years time. I do know that some of it will be familiar because once we find a usable…
Businesses, government organisations and individuals are not currently well prepared to take advantage of faster broadband, according to the CSIRO.
Flickr/HD Zimmermann
Broadband access and coverage may have increased across the country, but businesses aren’t investing in the required skills to facilitate innovation, technology leaders heard today. The launch of the Australian…
Former communications minister Stephen Conroy relished the opportunity to attack new NBN Co boss Ziggy Switkowski on rising costs and the state of Telstra’s copper network in the Senate hearing last week.
AAP/Lukas Coch
As Stephen Conroy interrogated the incoming NBN Co chief Ziggy Switkowski in last week’s Senate hearing into the network’s rollout, it became increasingly clear that politics is getting in the way of good…
Stringing optical fibre on power lines isn’t a new idea, but there are better ones.
Sarah Caulfield
Recent reports in The Australian call for the National Broadband Network (NBN) rollout to be sped up by using optical fibre strung overhead with power lines, rather than replacing Telstra’s copper network…
Malcolm Turnbull says he’s agnostic about which technology is used for the NBN.
BartaIV/Flickr
Yesterday, the new Minister for Communications, Malcolm Turnbull, announced he had asked for the resignations of the National Broadband Network (NBN) board. He stamped his authority on the direction of…
Communications minister Malcolm Turnbull has not accepted the resignation of six members of the NBN Co board – yet.
AAP/Alan Porritt
The mass resignation of all board members but one of NBN Co - the company charged with rolling out the National Broadband Network (NBN) - should come as no surprise to anyone observing the NBN debate…
The vision of a fibre-to-the-home National Broadband Network continues for some.
J e n s
Australian social media users and civil society groups are mobilising against Coalition communications spokesperson Malcolm Turnbull’s implication today that democracy has spoken through the election process…
Election 2013 Essays: As the federal election campaign draws to a close, The Conversation asked eminent thinkers to reflect on the state of the nation and the challenges Australia – and whichever party…
Workers install a fibre optic cable for the government’s National Broadband Network (NBN).
“At the current rate of roll-out, the National Broadband Network (NBN) won’t cover the whole country for 20 years.” – Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, National Press Club, 11 August. The above claim on the…
A disparity exists between media representations and public perceptions of the NBN.
Flood
It goes without saying that the National Broadband Network (NBN) – regardless of who steers the rest of the build – is a major infrastructure project for Australia. And we all know its cost, technical…
There are two visions for the National Broadband Network, but what are the long-term costs?
Lukas Coch/AAP
Consumers know well that buying a cheaper product often costs more in the long term when the cheaper product has to be replaced. This is true of the Coalition’s vision for the National Broadband Network…
What do the two broadband policies mean for regional Australia?
“If people want to access high-speed fibre, they will have to pay $5000 for the privilege… We believe that people in regions should pay the same price as people in Brisbane CBD or Sydney CBD. Under the…
Foxtel and the NBN … why all the noise of late?
Gaye Gerard/AAP
No-one would describe News Corp Australia’s view on the National Broadband Network (NBN) as rosy. But if it’s true the company has engaged in repeated attacks on the government because it “hates” its network…
Rupert Murdoch’s Australian newspapers have already come out swinging against the current government in the early stages of the election campaign.
AAP/Paul Miller
In 2007, journalist Ken Auletta spent a great deal of time with Rupert Murdoch while writing a magazine profile of him. Auletta observed that Murdoch was frequently on the phone to his editors and this…
The two proposals for Australia’s NBN offer two potential realities.
Lukas Coch/AAP
Broadband – in the shape of the National Broadband Network (NBN) – remains a key point of difference between Labor and the Coalition’s policies going into the federal election. Our politicians are not…
We factcheck Malcolm Turnbull and Anthony Albanese on this week’s Q&A program.
UPDATED: We were inundated with ideas for statements to check from Monday night’s Q&A on ABC TV. Here, our experts tackle four claims on three of the most requested topics. 1. Anthony Albanese: claims…
The recent decision by two Australian retailers to sign an accord protecting suppliers in Bangladesh has highlighted discrepancies in company disclosure of sustainability issues and the need for clearer…
Exposure to even a single fibre of asbestos dust can cause significant health problems.
Image from shutterstock.com
The digital age crashed into the bronze age when the roll out of Australia’s high-speed broadband network was disrupted by the discovery of asbestos in Telstra pits in recent weeks. Workplace relations…
Professor of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Deputy Dean Research at Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, The University of Melbourne