ISP chief on NBN: 'God help us all'
- — 08 September, 2010 09:07
The outspoken chief executive of internet service provider Exetel has issued a blunt reaction to the news that the National Broadband Network project is likely to go ahead: “God help us all”.
The revelation yesterday afternoon that rural independents Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor will support Labor to form government means the NBN is likely to go ahead, with both citing the flagship project as one of the key reasons they decided to support Labor above the Coalition. However Exetel’s John Linton – a long-time critic of the project – repeated his earlier problems with the project when asked for a response by email.
“Oakeshott and Windsor know even less about communications than Gillard and that’s a ridiculous way to decide on how taxpayer’s money is wasted,” he said.
The Exetel chief said nothing about the viability of the NBN project had changed, repeating the Coalition’s line that the project remained “a hugely expensive white elephant that will pauperise the Australian taxpayer every year the Labor Party pours borrowed money into it”.
Furthermore, Linton said, Australia would be poorer generally, and the local telco sector would “continue to be destroyed” because of the “pantomime” played out as the independents decided who they would vote for.
“God help us all,” he concluded.
Linton has been one of the most outspoken critics of the NBN project from the early days of its inception. Just this week the ISP chief wrote on his blog that the Government was foolhardy to try and pick a winner from the ongoing development of technology.
“The real point is that technology moves so quickly and offers so many diverse ‘paths’ that then split in to so many more diverse paths that NO government (command economy or quasi democracy) has the knowledge necessary to make such decisions,” he wrote.”
“The reason that technology is delivered to the possible buyers by multiple commercial vendors is because some decisions will be wrong at any point in time and those companies will collapse but others, who got that particular call correct, will continue. In the meantime the end users will continue to get a service at the best possible price and at the greatest possible ‘technology level’.”
Like some others who have criticised the NBN, Linton’s general thesis has been over time that the development of wireless technologies – such as 3G mobile broadband – has the potential to make the predominantly fibre-based NBN redundant.
“By the end of 2011 wireless broadband will be faster, cheaper and more ubiquitous in Australia than Telstra’s own ADSL2 network which is 3 times larger than any of its competitors,” he wrote on his blog this week.
Comments
gxdata
Thu 09/09/2010 - 12:04
Linton's trying to save Exetel from annihilation, by giving away subscriptions on the fibre that Exetel has put in as a part of the NBN Tasmania rollout, at ultra-cheap prices. He needs to get some bums on seats - anyway he can.
Actually, his arguments are all about his preferred politico-economic philosophy ("ideology") - not technology. I'd put him in the same mould as that fat billionaire miner from Queensland.
Kevin Loughrey
Thu 09/09/2010 - 14:51
Who is John Linton? What qualifications does he hold in communications engineering or computer science?
Unless someone discovers a new law of physics, optical fibre will always be far, far faster than any wireless point to point connection can ever be. That is not to say wireless does not have a useful purpose in IT networking. This is something akin to an idealised freight communications arrangement where ships and trains are bulk movers of cargo and trucks are for detailed delivery where appropriate; so it is with optical fibre and wireless (and even ADSL borne on copper conductors). How is it people are comfortable with the Government spending hundreds of billions of dollars on Australia's national and regional road system, yet they baulk at the idea of what is largely a one-off expenditure producing the world's best digital highway.
Ideologically, it is best that the national communications "backbone" is owned by the people but maintained by an "Army" of contractors engaged by periodic letting of a competitive tenders. The smaller the contractor the better. Telcos can then place equipment on the network and compete openly with each other. Is this not what small operators want? Is this not in the best interests of the consumer and Australia's economy? Up to now, if various parties are to be believed, Telstra has used its dominance to keep prices up and limit competition.
I am at a loss to understand Linton's objections other than to share a general concern the Government might not execute this project in the most cost effective fashion. This, to a large extent, will depend on the skill of those persons managing the NBN. I wish them the very best of success. If the NBN succeeds, it will be a fantastic leap forward for Australia; particularly for that part living outside the major capital cities.
Kevin Loughrey
CEO
Nano
Thu 09/09/2010 - 11:54
Thats because John Linton does not want to see his ADSL customer base go down. For him its all about his business. Fiber is the way to go and if he isnt thinking this way, then its purely for monetary reasons.