NBN Vs Wireless

There are many, many rants about the following done on a daily basis, particularly since the Telstra's announcement (soon followed by Optus and Vodafone) that it plans to have 4th generation/LTE mobile internet available in all capital cities. But as an avid internet user I feel it's important to put my rant up somewhere on the 'net and pretend I'm both informed and important.

LTE wireless technology is brilliant in the sense that it can bring a much needed boost to speed and availability on our often slow, patchy or congested mobile phone networks. This access means more people can use the internet on the go, especially with the continual rise in smartphone use, the still emerging 3G "tablet" computing phenomenon as well as the use of 3G broadband on laptops.

However just because it has a usefulness in some scenarios does not mean that it is a replacement for physical medium broadband such as ADSL, cable or fibre-optic. LTE is still affected by the number of people connected to the service as well as distance from your local tower. Add to this the current costs of data carriage over mobile networks and we may even see the return of minuscule quotas if LTE is used as a replacement for land-based broadband. Another common issue of wireless services is latency, even with higher speeds (an issue noted on some of the 4G rollouts around towns such as Perth). As we move forward into an internet-connected world, we are using the internet for more high-bandwidth and time sensitive applications such as VoIP, video-conferencing and IPTV. With increased latency, we would see stuttering and delays in conversation (think webcamming on MSN back in the later days of dialup).

For some of the reasons outlined above, the NBN is definitely the winner, especially as a replacement for the aging copper network we use for our currently ADSL and ADSL2+ services which are affected by distance, water and EM interference. As we continue moving forward and see more IPTV providers, more online and streaming content, the necessity of connection speeds from 25Mbps up to 1Gbps is clear. It is not just about serving us for today (something many have said could be done with improved ADSL rollouts or 3G wireless coverage), it is about helping to prepare for the future on some level. But a strong NBN does not mean LTE should be abandoned. They each have a purpose in Australia's future, so each should be backed.

Recent

Just thought I would post an update as to why I sometimes appear distant, alone or slightly down. Since October last year, I have lost common contact with about 2/3rds of my close friends. My Dad is going on a peacekeeping mission in March for the next 5 months and my Mum was diagnosed with breast cancer and is soon to be undergoing chemotherapy/radiotherapy.

This blog may become more of my publicly viewable diary it seems. I guess I just felt like I needed to tell some faceless entity what was wrong.