[Linux-aus] NBN discussion

[Russell Coker]

On Sun, 30 Jun 2013, Russell Stuart <russell-linuxaus at stuart.id.au> wrote:
> OK, maybe not that interesting.  But the amusing part of Russell Coker's
> rant was where he said "if only your home phone could redirect to your
> mobile".  Every NBN router comes with two Analogue Phone Adapters
> (ATA's), which you plug a normal phone into.  Those ATA's translate the
> analogue phone signal into SIP.  The NBN provides, for free, 150Kbs of
> bandwith for those ATA's, so as far as the NBN is concerned they carry
> the normal "land line" for free.

That is a gross misrepresentation of what I wrote.  I've quoted my previous 
message below for comparison.

The current situation is that if you sign a mobile phone contract you can port 
the phone number from your previous mobile phone to the new phone.  If you 
sign a fixed-line contract you can port the phone number from your previous 
fixed-line.  But you can't port what used to be a fixed-line number to a mobile 
phone unless you use some form of SIP forwarding, which while technically 
possible is a bit difficult for the typical pensioner and will require 
significantly more effort and expense than just porting a number from one 
provider to another.

It seems that one of the many ways of compelling people to become NBN 
customers is to make the NBN the only way that most people can get a phone 
number from an old fixed-line redirected to your premises.  I presume that some 
VOIP companies will offer a service of porting a number and forwarding it, but 
that takes extra fees to the VOIP company and some extra configuration effort so 
less people will do it.

My greatest objection to the way the NBN is being run is that it's compelling 
most of the population to become customers of one monopolistic corporation.  
That goes against the interests of the people which Labor are supposed to 
represent and against the idea of capitalist competition which Liberals 
pretend to care about.

On Sun, 30 Jun 2013, Russell Coker <russell at coker.com.au> wrote:
> If it ever becomes possible to forward what used to be a land-line phone 
> number to a mobile phone

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