Opposition to Fibre to the Premises, National Broadband Network Plan - Discussion of our progress in our campaign<title>  <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" /> <meta name="description" content="Blog of our campaigns progress. Contains a lot of extra background work we're doing and extra information on the issue of the NBN" /> <meta name="keywords" content="fso,csiro,unwarrented,adsl2+,broadband,ehealth,FTTP,VOD" /> <meta name="rating" content="general" /> <meta name="content" content="Opposition to the Australian National Broadband Network" /> <meta name="distribution" content="global" /> <meta name="robots" content="all" /> <meta name="robots" content="index,follow" /> <meta name="re-visit" content="7 days" /> <link href="default.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <script type="text/javascript" src="collapse.js" ></script> </head> <body onload="makeCollapsible(document.getElementById('arg1'));"> <table width="800px" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"> <tr class="header"> <td>  <table width="800px" style="height:70px;"> <tr> <td class="headertitle"> <img src= "nonbn_banner.jpg" alt="site banner" /> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr class="maincontent"> <td colspan="2"> <table width="100%"> <tr> <td align="center"> <a href="default.php">Learn</a></td> <td align="center">|</td> <td align="center"> <a href="petition.php">Petition</a></td> <td align="center">|</td> <td align="center"> <a href="donations.php">Donate</a></td> <td align="center">|</td> <td align="center"> <a href="progress.php">News</a></td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr>  <tr class="maincontent"> <td> <h3>What we've been doing:</h3> <ul> <li><strong>[19/Nov/09] The Titans -</strong> In our most recently cited external article, AAPT and Telstra have aired their scepticism and doubts about the NBN. This only leaves Optus who appears to have merely been a first mover - to get in the Government's good books. But even Optus themselves are trialing LTE technology and I don't it'll be long before the industry is unanimous against the poorly contrived NBN plan. (I like it when things go my way :) ). And having said that, it doesn't mean the end of the NBN, it will be quite inefficient to have 4 carriers deploying 4 overlapping LTE networks taking up precious spectrum - why don't the Government look at building a wireless NBN? In other news, I let Google ads run for a few days, to spend the donation money we received (and then received no more). I also found that a long running campaign with a $5 cap / day actually works better (to cost) than this shorter $20 cap / day campaign - or Google have just increased their prices a heap. I'll have to update the donations page once the payments have all cleared.</li> <li><strong>[17/Nov/09] Press Release -</strong> We actually got a good donation recently - so we've turned on Google Ads until that money runs out - we didn't get any more. We also issued a press release which gives journalists an angle relevant to the "season". PRESS RELEASE:</p> <strong>Doomed NBN will become Christmas Decorations</strong></br> Australia, Victoria, Geelong, 13/11/2009</p> The anti-"Fibre to the Premises" group, NoNBN.org, have turned up the heat on the Government, attacking their National Broadband Network (NBN) plan as inadequate for the real needs of Australians. The online organisation plans to derail the Governments' plan, which they see as an unaffordable and low-value option, pleading with the Government to consider the "superior alternatives". Campaign director, Todd Hubers of Geelong predicts, "if the current NBN plan pursued, we'll end up using the Fibre Optics for Christmas Decorations in the coming years".</p> The organisation has quoted Australian Bureau of Statistics figures which show, that the market is very price sensitive, with no internet subscription for 16% of the population earning less than $400 / week. "This is a critical problem for the NBN", says Hubers, "if low income earners are battling now to afford broadband, how are they going to cope with the more expensive NBN? How is NBNCo going to achieve it's required target of 80% market penetration?".</p> The campaigners are not alone, with notable studies from economists which point out the high risk with respect to the increased monthly subscription costs calculated for the new network.</p> They don't stand unopposed, with proponents claiming that there are no alternatives and fibre is the only way forward. "That's all rubbish", says Hubers, "they're all technomotively driven - desiring the fastest, shiniest new toy, rather than considering the facts.". Those facts refer to the groups' evidence that more bandwidth doesn't equal more productivity. "The productivity graph is only indicative", admits Hubers, "there are no studies out there which link bandwidth to productivity, but it's easy for anyone to see that a simple lightweight email or instant message is much more productive than a heavyweight High Definition video call".</p> With the implementation study still underway in Tasmania, the Government is refusing to release any cost-benefit analysis estimations. And with the next election just around the corner, the NBN is looking more like a political playing card than a delivery on a promise.</p> Hubers is urging the general public to visit the website, "Please sign the petition and send us feedback, comments and donations. We need to put pressure on the Government so that no more money is wasted".</p> ###</p> Name: Todd Hubers</br> Phone: 0424 320 575</br> Email: no.national.broadband.network@gmail.com</br> Address: 52 Neptune Ave</br> </li> <li><strong>[19/Oct/09] Shakeup -</strong> The site needed a bit of a shakeup, I noticed that the old table comparing FTTP with alternatives was still too technical. People like pictures. I found two strong angles to cover, Unaffordable and Unwarrented. In my constant struggle to reference more (adds credibility) I thought it would be good to base the affordability argument on the BoS statistics which are contained in the Costing spreadsheet. I'm still not 100% happy with the layout, but it'll have to do. </li> <li><strong>[04/Sep/09] On my side -</strong> There have been times where all the spin coming from the government almost convinces me that I'm wrong - particularly the hype about gains from eHealth. There have been times when I just want to leave it because it takes too much time to regularly update the site. I contemplate just letting it rot. But I have persisted even if it means, looking at the campaign once a week for an hour or so. Finally, there are quite a few facts emerging which strongly support my point of view that the NBN is unaffordable. I have put up a couple of more links to articles and removed (once again) any links to FSO and mesh technology - this is now possible thanks to the article about the CSIRO wireless technology which does the job I intended FSO and mesh to do. The oppositions cost benefit analysis is particularly encouraging (not that of the plight of the countries communication, but of my position and beliefs), it particularly attacks the spin on eHealth which I have had quite a bit to say about recently in Whirlpool. I maintained that only MRIs are large ~90MB, yet as they are taken in a hospital, by the time you get home they could have synched with an ADSL2+ connection. One passage sums it up nicely, "With respect to telemedicine, it is not clear what residential medical applications require access to residential fibre optics, short of a future being projected in which individuals will have CAT scanners in their homes". And another revealing fact "[government claims that] pervasive high speed broadband would drive a 1.1% productivity improvement after ten years-or 0.1% a year-was based on a comparison to an economy without broadband". In light of these facts it's quite ridiculous to see all those people clinging to a nerdy "want" for faster internet, regardless the cost.</li> <li><strong>[20/Aug/09] Bad Timing -</strong> Well I still haven't got around to writing another article yet, but I finally got the video from my video camera onto the internet of the "OurNet" presentation. Next week I'm expecting to make a presentation at Deakin university for honours students. As you can see it happening again, I'm bringing losing focus. So I'm hoping to get a separate website for "OurNet" and only link to it from NoNBN.org. Then I'll get back on the job and continue to stay up to date on the debate. I have though been debating in the Whirlpool thread "Against the NBN" - that's probably another reason I've been missing in action, no there's a third - I've been getting busier at work again. So the plan stands, split from "OurNet", limit whirlpool participation, work less.</li> <li><strong>[20/July/09] Interview -</strong> Out and About called on Saturday (on the way to the beach with the dog), and I went through an interview. Rodney, the interviewer was on the side of the FTTP plan and I of course was against it. I believe, that I got most of the major points across, I had a few more things I wanted to say, but I was very much limited by the time and questions of the interview. I think I was pretty diplomatic, even stating that FTTP is "a" good technology, but just not affordable for Australia. I haven't listened to the interview yet, so another to add to the TODO list. Apart from that, not much progress. I enjoyed my weekend for a change, went to a few garage sales, bought a linen cupboard for $30, then went with my wife to Ocean Grove beach with the dog for a walk and some chips.</li> <li><strong>[16/July/09] Category 1 -</strong> Got a good burst of visitors, a few more comments and petitions signed, although it only peaked at about 100 new visitors on one day. The total for the month is now 500 visitors, and we're just halfway through the month - the record is 400. A lot more is needed to propel the campaign into the mass media. Luckily I'm not crazy enough to threaten peoples' lives or anything for publicity - and i can't tight rope walk. A hunger strike is too cliche. I gave a presentation, last Friday about "OurNet" (yer that's what it's currently called), the Point-to-point mesh idea. I taped it, and I'm having trouble getting it onto the computer so I can post it on YouTube - FireWire isn't working. It's interesting to note, that Melbourne University got a $50m broadband grant from the government, especially since Professor Rod Tucker, a staff member there, was a lead expert on the NBN expert panel (that's a gooood back scratch). Regardless, I'm sure some good ideas will come out of it. PayPal finally reactivated the donation account, after I got around to sending a company letter to them - Hooray!! Oh and I did get a donation (other than from myself) of $50!.... Does my mother-in-law count? Surely that looks good :). Anyway, the next article - debate summary still hasn't happened yet, hopefully in the next few days. Also, I thought it would be good to write a thorough analysis of all potential alternatives. I updated the wording in the petition form for the two "I supports"..., specifically the second one doesn't single out a wireless option anymore. Updated the donations page: Updated balances and transactions, simplified planned purchases list, added radio advertisement example, added call for ideas for ads, updated donation handling policy (mostly removed references to OpenNet). </li> <li><strong>[10/July/09] The approaching storm -</strong> I'm very happy that both CommsDay and ItNews found time to write an article about the website, it has really helped to get the website some more publicity. I've paused the Google advertising campaign - costed ~$130 in total - hopefully PR can take over and in turn lift my Google page rank. Anyway, tonight I'm presenting to Melbourne Wireless the SFSOM idea - I've called it "OurNet" for now, better than an acronym. I'll be recording it and posting it on YouTube - I think videos may be the way forward - rather than written articles, so much more can be communicated. The MW presentation will be good practice for September when I present to two universities - who sound keen to further SFSOM research. A lot of people are interested to see the video after - so hopefully it isn't underwhelming. I do need to write at least one more article - I got back into whirlpool and started a thread about opposing the NBN, hoping to be able to edit the original post as the debate raged, but after about a day, I couldn't edit the original post - so I'll probably write a debate summary article which delves deep into all of the arguments and answers a lot of the Pro arguments which I did answer, but the posters never acknowledged and simply moved onto another angle of debate. </li> <li><strong>[29/June/09] Recognition -</strong> Over the past month I've continued battering journalists, wanting them to run a story, so the campaign can reach more Australians. Today I finally got a break, I got hold of a contact for a reputable communications industry publication, we chatted on the phone about the campaign - it was refreshing to talk to someone who understood and recognised my views (my wife can only handle so much) :). I hope that this article will improve traffic to this website, generate further stories and propel the issue into the mainstream media where the campaign will have its greatest effect. With increased traffic to the website and maybe some more contributors and debates, the campaign can be further refined, readied and strengthened for more formal lobbying. Well it's becoming one of those "Geez I better shave!" (Toystory) moments and I've got to clean up and update the content as much as possible.</li> <li><strong>[29/June/09] Building -</strong> The new direction is working well. Over the last month I've had some spare time to write some more articles to debate against the NBN from different angles. I would consider any single one of these angles has enough merit to compel the government to shutdown the current NBN plan, take a step back and do some good hard thinking. The forum has still not been used and has in fact been heavily spammed by spam BOTS, so I've taken out the link. The addition of comments links next to the articles should provide a good feedback platform and out-of-thread comments can easily be emailed to me personally where I can then find a place.</li> <li><strong>[28/May/09] Reaching everyone -</strong> While chatting to people about the website, it has become very obvious that the website is not friendly enough for the general public. So I've finally started down the fixing path. For starters we're focusing the arguments on what most people understand - money - starting with the capital and monthly costs. There are obviously many more arguments which could be cited but for simplicity sake we're leaving them out - accessible by the "hungry" later. We have taken out the OpenNet section of the website for now (I'll make it obscurely accessible later), made the Learn page the landing page, simplified the learn page with side by side comparisons of NBN flaws with our proposal and I changed the progress menu item to News. Now there are only 4 menu items. The more technical details are still relevant for the website but I'll ease those back in over time. The priority now is to add some more pictures and diagrams which people can relate to, there is also the possibility to place some videos on the website which are more engaging - we would create an overview video which covers the new points on the learn page, individual videos would go into more depth about each point. The videos would be uploaded to YouTube and they would be viewed from inside the website. </li> <li><strong>[24/May/09] You can't see me -</strong> Until now, I've been trying to engage users in the Whirlpool.net.au forums about the NBN. One of the rules is that you can't mention commercial and even non-commercial websites - even if they relate to the thread (in this case NBN). I was suspended from participating for 1 day as a result of such "spamming". Following this, I attempted to continue debating the topic, this time referring to my profile's webpage, which a moderator suggested. Unfortunately, I was suspended for 3 days. I actually think this happened because a moderator found another direct reference to this site in another thread from the original cases - so i was punished twice. Anyway, I spent quite a lot of time on some of my responses, probably a total of 4-6 hours. A lot of the users there seem like very narrow minded supporters of the NBN proposal, refusing to even concede on a single point - instead users seem to fade away in silence. As a result I've decided that it is really a waste of time to spend so much time in that forum, where I'm merely relaying information already found in the website, or bringing up new points which should be in this website. So I'll answer the last two posts - one even says that creating a TDMA MAC is impossible as the OS wouldn't let the user change such behaviour - I'll have to wait to enlighten him to the world of the Linux open MAC80211 interface and drivers in general - this is just one case how they underestimate the collective expertise of the experts associated with NoNBN.org, and assume that it is a half baked idea. However correspondence in Whirlpool has shown me how much information is missing from the website - especially in the way of references - which provide a great source of credibility.</li> <li><strong>[24/May/09] Too technical -</strong> We've noticed, from reports from users that the website is too technical. Although we do need the technical information, to be able to connect with the wider community for support we need a more basic content which appears more prominently, leaving the more technical detail for IT professionals and the curious (who are more likely to look around and scroll web pages). We have started this effort by changing the Learn page. We put together a presentation which can also be emailed which focuses on, one flaw - the fact that the only application which needs better bandwidth is HD VOD, plus the outline of our suggestions for NBN design modifications.</li> <li><strong>[23/May/09] Great news! - </strong> We have a partner in Bell Park, Geelong, who is willing to test a long range WiFi link. In about two weeks we will spend a Saturday, configuring the equipment to reach approx. 6km. This test will give the project priceless firsthand information. Using a long distance link, we can test many of our assumptions and observe atmospheric effects on a larger scale.</li> <li><strong>[21/May/09] Cleanup -</strong> I wanted to add more pictures, but there was still more to be done in areas first. After such radical changes, I've now taken a second look and found some room for improvement. Fixing spelling, rewording some sentences. Took of the sticky marketing off the front page - it's exciting and we're still keen, but it distracts from the key messages we're trying to clearly communicate. Added more insight about the tiers of an economy and that spending $43 at the top tier is not nation building. Backed off supporting fibre for long distance links to rural centres, multi-gigabit wireless should be used instead. Noted the requirement for upgrading data centres to be able to push out data Reordered the navigation links, so they mirror the steps in Introduction. We changed the banner message to be more specific, that we oppose the design, not the whole idea. Fixed the introduction page - simplified to 3 goals, simplified layout.</li> <li><strong>[21/May/09 12:23AM] New direction -</strong> It's amazing, with all of these new changes, everything clicked. After reading through forums and reading further articles, it appears that our stance needs to be realigned with true public opinion. Key changes are: Not to completely scrap the idea of an NBN, Fibre is needed eventually - but not within 8 years, Wireless should fill the gap, savings can be made, mobile connectivity supported, rural access speeds increased. These changes in position affected most pages, including renaming "The Debate" page to learn, redefining goals for NoNBN.org, separating criticism from suggestions, rewriting the Learn page, making the forum more accessible, refining the goals of OpenNet, update petition layout/wording/colouring. All the changes were easy and natural, they made the position of NoNBN more clear, and taking this new angle while rewriting the page was easy. I'm glad the old stuff is gone. Thanks to everyone for continuing to debate and criticise. Next we need some good pictures for illustrations... I'm going to bed.</li> <li><strong>[20/May/09] Started advertising on Google -</strong> They have what looks like a useful tool for analysing traffic as well - better than the built in one I have with my hosting. I'll let the ads run for about 2 weeks for now, maxed at $100, to see if it makes a difference to traffic.</li> <li>[20/May/09] Updated the donation page, we want to help you help us, by making the mechanics of donation open. Until we form a not-for-profit organisation, we need to accept donations in a corporate capacity - backed by Alivate Pty Ltd.</li> <li><b>[20/May/09] OpenNet Antenna</b> - Today and yesterday, I concentrated on the OpenNet antenna design. I'm surprised what we found. We're currently pursuing a waveform antenna design (similar to the cantenna). I've been busy drawing designs for the "link modules" - each 802.11n link needs 3 antenna, so we would need. I have been focusing on the functional design of the modules, but still want help with the cosmetic - which can't be started until you have an idea of dimensions etc.. Anyway we thought we'd need 3 antennas strapped side by side together, in a pyramid, but I believe we will be able to transmit 3 polarised signals from one antenna, reducing size, cost, and profile. I'll hopefully post some, pictures in the OpenNet design page tonight, but I've really gotta work (earn money). </li> <li>[20/May/09] Updated the introduction page, the sticky note marketing shows how we're really trying hard to be innovative about our methods for this cause, however it distracts somewhat from the key message, so we made this collapsible also. I also noticed a typo and fixed that. </li> <li>[20/May/09] Updated the Debate summary, after reviewing comments in a Whirlpool.net.au thread, I decided to be even more clear in the supporting spiel. We also decided to allow the points to be collapsible so as not to overwhelm the reader with pages full of information. </li> <li>[20/May/09] Contacted Nick Minchin, Shadow Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (such spin in that title - everyone wants to look progressive and edgy, but with no technical knowledge or experience - and yes I know Mr. Minchins' title is simply "Shadow" put after the Labor created title). I contacted him to both make him aware of the website and to ask for help in publicising the cause - it's hard to get popularity - still waiting for the website to rank better in Google - we need links from other websites. I also performed another round of calls and emails to journalists - what are they waiting for? They must be busy people. </li> <li>[20/May/09] Created this page: We started the website late last week, and have been making incremental changes to the site, trying to improve readability and effectively communicate the goals, debate and need for signatures and donations. We have also been active with the OpenNet design, we are yet to receive any external input, but we are being very open about this very innovative idea, we are particularly happy with the second revision of the design draft which can be downloaded from the OpenNet section. Please use the forum and submit feedback for any department of this cause, we are also happy to receive criticism for any opposing arguments we are supporting, we will be happy to reword our debate summary page or even change the angles taken by each argument. </li> </ul> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <table width="800px" style="color: White;"> <tr> <td>Contacts us for anything: <a class="dark" href="mailto:no.national.broadband.network@gmail.com">no.national.broadband.network@gmail.com</a></td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <script type="text/javascript"> var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www."); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); </script> <script type="text/javascript"> try { var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-8929647-1"); pageTracker._trackPageview(); } catch(err) {}</script> </body> </html>