Expert: NBN is audacious, but it’s exactly what we need
- 02 June, 2011 17:25
- Comments 4
The National Broadband Network (NBN) is a bold and expensive process but the risk is well worth it, according to Bullseye chairman, Jim McKerlie.
He has over 20 years experience in business consulting in around the world specialising in technology development, business integration and the growth of new media opportunities. He was also involved in managing the competitive process for the award mobile telecommunications licences in a number of countries including Australia and Malaysia.
McKerlie stepped in as a guest speaker at the Australian Chambers Business Congress after AAPT CEO, Paul Broad, pulled out.
The NBN has been criticised for being a government-funded project despite plans to privatised it in the future. Having had experiences in the US where the healthcare and telecoms sector are both dominated by the private sector, McKerlie believed government money in such a giant infrastructure project is justifiable.
“Public interest and benefits in these kinds of projects are not something that will immediately attract commercial returns,” he said. “Public money, sometimes, is the best way to go and we can look at commercialising when it is mature.”
The Federal Government has also been attacked for spending $36 billion for a risky project without submitting the NBN to a cost-benefit analysis. It has, according to critics, perhaps been over-ambitious with its plan to connect 93 per cent of Australian households with a fibre-based broadband network.
The Government has taken a “build it and they will come” approach, rolling out the network then attracting customers onto the network to eventually produce a return.
“The Opposition is saying the proposal is like building a Bentley when we can only afford a Commodore,” McKerlie said. “The trouble with aiming to just build a commodore is you will probably end up with a Go-Cart.
“... I don’t think we can afford to end up with that.”
While NBN is indeed an audacious project, it will become a crucial part of becoming globally competitive. The Federal Government has aimed high with the $36 billion network with more than 20 countries around the world looking into building their own national high-speed broadband network, Australia can’t afford not to spend the money, according to McKerlie.
Even if we don’t reach the objectives laid out by the NBN, we will at least be on track to do so, he said.
McKerlie also lauded the National Digital Economy Strategy announced by Communications Minister, Senator Stephen Conroy, at CeBIT two days ago. The strategy laid out eight goals Australia would aim to achieve through the aid of high-speed broadband.
“It is particularly encouraging [to see the goals],” McKerlie said. “At least [Shadow Communications Minister] Malcolm Turnbull doesn’t disagree with them.”
Turnbull’s response to the Digital Economy Strategy claimed the goals set by the Government can be done without spending $36 billion on the NBN.
The Australian Chambers Business Congress concludes on Friday.
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Comments
gd
1
Yes but these are the same sort of people that told the British government that the national health IT programme was a great move. Yes 8 billion later and nothing to show !
Yes you see the people who push programmes like the NBN and british health IT are the ones that make a lot of money from it. The rest of us poor taxpayers get left footing the bill !
Do you think this guy is going to say any investment in IT is bad, he's a IT consultant for god sake
Had one of his lot come in and tell me my small business needed to go digital... 30K quote later and I asked so what are the benifet . Shared email and calenders and a website. Told him to go jump
Rational
2
So true gd.
As a long time consultant in managing IT and telco projects, I can vouch for your opinion... I have seen too often consultants go in with a a view to not really fix a problem, but keep themselves in a job. Fed Govt is full of them unfortunately.
Regards NBN, this guy points out that "... more than 20 countries around the world looking into building their own national high-speed broadband network..." Unfortunately he provides no support for them: 1. actually moving ahead with a real project. 2. Having a country as large as Australia to deliver services, or 3. that 'high-speed broadband' is anything like the speeds that NBN Fibre could deliver, and maybe those countries will deliver with ADSL2 or wireless.
In short, potentially misleading comments.
Again, another expert has not identified the applications that MUST have NBN FTTH, just regurgitated apps that can be met with improvements to current technologies.
Kevin
3
Every time Australia tries to implement something special and necessary out come the same old arguments against and it always comes back to money.
Not everything in this world has to make a profit. There are so many projects that are simply good for the country and it's citizens and if needed should be financed by taxes.
An example for you Liberal voters. In the 50's SA Liberal Premier Sir Thomas Playford, took over the the then privately owned electricity supplier. He did this because it was not profitable for that company to provide power to farmers and many rural areas. He did it knowing that that there will be a loss and that loss would be covered by raising the cost and taxes.
Once all the power infrastructure was in place, working and running it was handed back to the private sector. SA now has one of the lowest power costs in the country.
The exact same thing has to be done with any major infrastructure in Australia. Like Playford the Federal Government must invest in any area where the initial costs is beyond that of the private sectors capabilities. Once the initial taxed paid costs is recovered then the private sector can have it.
Simply there is no private sector company or group that can do when NBN is doing without Governent help.
gnome
4
Good thinking, Kevin. The only broadband network we would have got from the ol' monopolist would have been a partial FTTN one which:
would have entrenched a monopoly position;
would only have covered some urban areas; and
would have soon started to become obsolescent.
The NBN will take several years to complete and will be viable for many years after that, so saying that we don't need it to run yesterday's programs, while true, is completely illogical and ignores the continuing large increases in both the quantity and quality of future demand.