During the recent elections in Australia, immigration has been one of the foremost issues that has have been tackled. However, there are actually a lot more issues of concern during that time and even after the elections have been concluded. One of these is the debate about whether or not to continue on with the National Broadband Network (NBN) project.
Even before the elections, the matter of the project has been quite a hot topic for many of the policy makers. However, not a lot of people in Australia are aware of the real stakes in the issues. And so, here is a look at what really there is to it.
The NBN was first proposed by then opposition minister Kevin Rudd during his bid for Prime Minister during the 2007 election. Upon winning that election, Rudd and the Labor Party immediately set the grounds for the development of the network, with project proposals coming in 2008. The initial stages of the project was finally rolled out in Tasmania on Aug. 10 of this year, with current Prime Minister Julia Gillard in attendance.
Initially, the new network was expected to deliver around 100 Mbps of data speed during its operations. However, during the launch of the Tasmanian stage of the project, it was announced that the network is to put out speeds of around 1 Gbps (gigabits per second). The project also aims to provide Internet services and access to about 93 percent of the Australian public.
The project definitely looks promising, considering all the benefits it would give the country in terms of information technology capabilities. However, one thing that is considered a hindrance to its full development is the cost. According to estimates, the whole project will cost the Australian government more than AU$ 43 billion.
This is the point where the Labor Party and its opponent, the Liberals, differ greatly on the matter. While they both agree that Australia does need to improve its information technology infrastructure, the Liberals want a cheaper alternative. They are proposing that the government instead push for building of a so called Internet backbone, which can be used by telecommunications firms to build their networks. The whole project will cost only around AU$ 6 billion, according to supporters.
With the Labor Party once again winning the elections, it seems that the NBN plan might well be the one pushing through. However, whether or not this one brings in the purported benefits to the general public is something yet to be seen as it goes online.
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