We’re 10 years ahead

The business plan for Australia’s National Broadband Network was released and it confirms that Canada is $41B and a decade ahead [pdf, 3.4MB].

Once the government invests $27.5B in equity and raising a further $13.4B in debt, in the year 2020, Australia will still have 3% of its population served by satellite-based broadband service with an additional 4% served by fixed wireless service. That is 7% of the population that won’t be reached by wired facilities after 10 years and more than $40B.

At last month’s Obligation To Serve hearings, we heard considerable discussion about how to reach the final 5% of Canadians who are beyond the reach of telco or cableco facilities.

John Maduri of Barrett Xplore criticized a proposal to create a new $7B fund for Canada:

7703   Instead, MTS would prefer you ask them to spent $7 billion on wires. The sad part of their proposal is that even with a $7 billion of wires, you will probably still need a satellite to fill in the inevitable gaps in coverage.

7704   I point to the Australian example again where with $40-plus billion to get to 90-plus percent and the balance even with that significant investment, [there is still] the need for satellite and wireless.

The NBN business plan confirms these statements. We have a vast country with many people choosing to live in sparsely populated areas. The private sector is continuing to invest in network upgrades to meet evolving demand.

In the new year, I would like to see the focus on the 20% of Canadians who don’t own a computer. As you have read on these pages [eg. here and here], I would like to see a connected computer in every household with school aged children.

I have thoughts for how this can be done in a competitively neutral manner.

Who wants to join the campaign?