Conroy: Turnbull knows dial-up, not broadband
- 16 September, 2010 10:26
- Comments 6
Newly appointed Shadow Communications Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has experience in the dial-up business, not the broadband industry, according to Communications Minister, Senator Stephen Conroy.
Former Shadow Communications Minister, Tony Smith, became the party’s parliamentary secretary. Smith was criticised for his lack of knowledge on broadband during his short tenure as Shadow Communications Minister. Abbott has built up Turnbull’s credibility in the industry by highlighting his experience as chair of ISP, OzEmail, from 1994 to 1999 and tasked him to destroy the Labor Government’s NBN plans.
But Senator Conroy has dismissed Turnbull’s credentials as outdated as he held the position before broadband was a mainstream service. “Let’s not overcook this cake here,” he said to the ABC. “Turnbull was chairperson as a merchant banker of a dial-up company, so he was involved in a dial-up company.”
Senator Conroy also addressed the decision to favour regional areas when rolling out the NBN as requested by Independents Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor. The pair sided with Labor to give the party an opportunity to form a minority Government.
“There is no question that if you started 100 per cent in the capital cities you would get a faster revenue stream, but that would be unfair and inequitable," he said.
"We reject this concept that metro Australia deserves to have better broadband than regional and rural Australia."
Nominations for the 2012 ARN IT Industry Awards open on Tuesday, June 12.
- Bookmark this page
- Share this article
- Got more on this story? Email ARN
- Follow ARN on twitter
- Aberdeen Group: Building Business Resilience Through Active Archive
- In Search of the Long-Term Archiving Solution —Tape Delivers Significant TCO Advantage over Disk
- In Search of the Long-Term Archiving Solution —Tape Continues to Be a Major Player
- Market Potential-Strategy Guide to the Active Archive Market
- Red Light In the Control Centre Saves Hours of Chaos
-
Facebook could buy Nokia to build 'FacePhone', expert claims
-
It's not all Doom at new media conference
-
Tech Watch: Who watches the datacentre?
-
Facebook scammers host Trojan horse extensions on the Chrome Web Store
-
Webroot: Growth in security
Get exclusive access to ARN's news, research and invitation only events. 
Comments
hater
yeah.... Turnbull probally knows little about how to backslash, backslash or, you know, the "portal" in general
Job opportunities
If the NBN can generate new jobs for Australians, train and develop our people, then it is worthwhile. Same if the fibre and other products used are given to Australian owned manufacturing companies.
You would have to believe that $42b pumped into the economy is good for Australia - stimulate growth, pay wages etc which in turn can be taxed and parts recovered.
If however, the bulk of this money is spent on overseas product, and outsourced companies, external expertise, cheap labour etc then it will be a disgrace.
That would mean Australians have been relegated to digging trenches and laying cables - this will do nothing to advantage Australians.
Does anyone have any idea how much of the $42b spend stays in Australia?
This must be the question that NEEDS to be asked and answered.
Yibbity
Ozemail's base product was $5.00ph for dial-up access. Based on an averaged online habit today of say, 2 hrs online for a single and 6 hrs online for a family, Turnbull's company (he was the money man, banker, not tech or engineering at all...), they would charging the following:
Single: $10 a day / $300 per month
Family: $30 a day / $900 per month
Plus modem and phone charges.
There was massive take-up of Ozemail and most other ISPs at the time.
Now, could we hear from the braniacs who claim the NBN will be too expensive and few people will use it due to the costs...??
By their logic, my household would be slugged around $1200 per month for my present 20Mbps connection with 50Gbyte data costs just $69 per month... (packaged with home phone....)
So looks like a load of folks are talking out from between their buttock cheeks instead of their facial cheeks, have no idea about this market and the industry dynamics, or...
They are just lying through their teeth to try and scare people away from the dreaded NBN...???
BTW: Early take-up of ISPs like Ozemail was very low and they hardly survived, then it sky-rocketed, as it did with every new wave of broad market technology since.
People with knowledge and a grip of the facts will know how high ADSL prices were at the start, and look at them now...
20Mbps / 50Gbyte data / $69 per month : And this is not a cheapie ISP I use either...
Let's stick to the facts and drop the miserable FUD.
BTW: Mr Turnbull mentions the undersea cables industry of the early 90s as an example of big spend faiulure. He forgets to mention that those investments were drived by $$$goggling investment bankers, venture capitalists etc.
Now what was he in the early 90s? Oh yeah, an investment banker.
HiTechTwerp
Dear Mr Tony Abbott,
I have a wealth of experience communicating with two baked beans cans and a length of string.
Can I have Malcolm Turnbull's job ?
ramtot
Seriously?
I'll wager any day of the week that Turnbull's overall understanding of the internet (and probably most other subjects) would put Conroy's to shame! Virtually every time Conroy opens his mouth, it is apparent that he is out of his depth in this portfolio. Turnbull will eat Conroy for breakfast.
Rubens Camejo
Stephen, one piece of advise, if I may, please:
Concentrate on making sure the NBN has no obvious stuff ups in its implementation. Forget playing politics with it.
Argue the facts when they accusations start but do not fall into the trap of playing the man.
Have your staff take a look at all the postson every story on the NBN, (google mine, they're enlighting), and you will see that you have already won the argument with the people.
The only thing that can bring this undone is a monumnetally stupid oversight in the process of building it and costing it.
Concentrate on that becuase the other damaging element could be the fact that people are sick of name-calling and of playing the man instead of the facts.
Pull your head in and do your work. Let the coalition drown in their own BS on this issue.
They are being negative for the sake of being negative. your job is to be positive.
I voted for your party exclusively on this issue. Don't lose me and countless others and put the NBN in peril.
No go to it! - TYou do, afetr all work for me, (joking)
Maybe you need another political advisor in your office? - I am open to offers. I'll draft all your press releases on this issue alone.
Post new comment