[MLB-WIRELESS] WiMAX to go Australia wide?

[Steven Haigh]

Quoting Tyson Clugg <tclugg at umd.com.au>:

> On Mon, 2007-06-18 at 18:10 +1000, emdeex wrote:
>> So as you've all probably heard, the federal govt says it will roll
>> out WiMAX Australia wide with Optus and Elders.
>
> Hang on a second... I've got deja-vu!
>
> <rustling noises...>
>
> Yep, I was right.  This rollout is most likely the flow on from the
> following enquiry back in 2002, which Melbourne Wireless took part:

Indeed - I remember this too. A lot of what people were trying to sell  
or make look good is just complete voodoo and speculation. Sadly,  
people may have had a sip of the koolaid ;)

> Standing Committee on Communications, Information Technology and the
> Arts
> Committee activities (inquiries and reports)
> Inquiry into Wireless Broadband Technologies
> http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/cita/Wbt/index.htm
>
>
>      COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
>     Official Committee Hansard
>              HOUSE OF
>          REPRESENTATIVES
> STANDING COMMITTEE ON COMMUNICATIONS,
>  INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND THE ARTS
> Reference: Wireless broadband technologies
>        TUESDAY, 2 JULY 2002
>             MELBOURNE
>
> http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/cita/Wbt/transcripts/official2july.pdf
>  and also
> http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/reps/commttee/r5608.pdf
>
> At the time, we (Melbourne Wireless) were interested in seeking
> clarification on the legality of our operations, citing the confusion
> between non-profit and cost-recovery and how Melbourne Wireless might be
> able to offer the Internet (real WWW, Google and all) to the general
> public and members.  As we sat in Spring St, we heard the ramblings of
> many a telco CEO.

And the sad part was that it was mostly ramblings. I remember the guy  
after we gave our presentation got a complete toasting... It's a great  
read if you want to hear the Marketting/sales VP of (I think) Motorola  
get shot down repeatedly ;)

> The hansard notes show some interesting quotes on the cost-effectiveness
> of providing "last-mile" comms to the bush.  The report makes
> recommendations on the result of the enquiry.  The report foreword
> starts with the following paragraph:
>
> Wireless broadband has an important role to play in extending
> the reach of broadband services to all Australians. There is no one
> particular wireless broadband technology that can solve all
> telecommunications problems. The future will see a mix of
> various technologies and the market should be permitted to
> determine, over time, which ones best suit particular applications.
> The government should maintain a general regulatory policy of
> ‘technology-neutrality’ (not favouring any particular technology,
> whether it be wireless or wire-line). Specific measures should be
> put in place to extend the understanding and takeup of wireless
> broadband.

This gets read as "nothing exists yet that will actually be good to  
splurge cash on". And this hasn't changed.

> Have a read of the entire report (and the hansard notes if you can be
> bothered) and you will be in a much better position to comment on the
> WiMAX rollout.  If you spent weeks of your life preparing for the
> enquiry back in 2002, then you should be an expert.  :P

Agreed. It is a great read and will clue a lot of people in on the  
reality of the situation.

> Cheers,
> Tyson Clugg.

-- 
Steven Haigh

Email: netwiz at crc.id.au
Web: http://www.crc.id.au
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