[Linux-aus] Political Recognition for Technology in Australia - was Re: Seeking feedback - EFA Citizens Not Suspects campaign

[Bret Busby]

On Thu, 27 Jun 2013, Russell Coker wrote:

<snip>

>
>> Yes, the Government lavishes itself with multi-billion $ NBN that works
>> out per household to hundreds-of-thousands of dollars per install (if
>> not more).
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Broadband_Network
>
> Yes the NBN is expensive, but let's not exaggerate.  The cost of the NBN is
> listed as $37,400,000,000.  If it was to cost $100K per installation then that
> would mean that there could only be 374,000 installations.  According to
> Wikipedia 24,000 customer services were active late last year - that made it
> more than $100K per installation then but they continue to install at more
> homes.
>

I think that the reference to cost per household, is a bit hairy, as the 
NBN is supposedly intended to serve businesses also, and, not just 
households. Or, so I believe.

Perhaps, a number of intended nodes (customers (?) ) would be a more 
useful number, than a number of households.

Does anyone know how many households exist in Australia, anyway?

In the meantime, using a (rough, and, not very accurate) figure of a 
population of about 20 million, then, the listed cost cited above, of 
$37400000000, gives about (3.7x10E10 / 2x10E7) $1800 per person.

If a population figure of 30 million is used, then it is still about 
$1200 per person, of the population, which, to me, anyway, is alot of 
money.

I understood that data transmission via electricity supply lines, is 
faster and less expensive, as the network of lines already exists. I 
believe that data transmission via electricity supply lines, has been 
used successfully in Europe, for some years, now (of course, we are way 
behind the rest of the world - that is the policy of the federal 
parliament).

Of course, I could be wrong...

--
Bret Busby
Armadale
West Australia
..............

"So once you do know what the question actually is,
  you'll know what the answer means."
- Deep Thought,
   Chapter 28 of Book 1 of
   "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
   A Trilogy In Four Parts",
   written by Douglas Adams,
   published by Pan Books, 1992
....................................................