Guest Blogger: This post was written by Matt Milstead, a freelance writer for the telecommunication industry.
The difference between the National Broadband Network (NBN) and ADSL2+, Cable and Wireless is the use of the words 'limited' and 'limitless'.
Talk about ADSL2+, Cable and Wireless (the current providers) and you'll be told that the speed of their system is limited by the copper wire they have to use when their signal switches from their cable to copper cable at the local interchange. Copper can carry signals at 24 megabits per second and no faster. More than that, the further the home or business is from the interchange, the slower the signal gets. Most customers of the current providers get much less than 24 megabits per second.
Talk about NBN and you'll hear that fiber optic cable has no upper limit. The fiber optic cable used by NBN goes directly into the home or business. Their signal never spends time on copper wire. Right now, the speed of the NBN connections is up to 40 times faster than the current providers and has, essentially, no upper limit. The NBN plans to go as high as 1 Gigabit per second, that's ten times faster than the highest speed being installed by NBN and 400 times faster than the speed supplied by the current providers. NBN for business means greater mobility and better service to the customer.
The NBN is a plan begun by the Australian Federal Labour Government with the goal of putting broadband internet access in 93% of Australian homes. The remaining seven percent live too far away to receive fiber optic cable and will be supplied with internet connectivity through fixed wireless or satellites.
Active Australian businesses make money with speed. They seize on the new technology, immerse themselves in the intricacies of it and find new ways of serving the public and generating profits. The possibility of a 1 gigabyte connection opens up endless opportunities; a thousand page online catalog that loads in a few seconds, fully interactive web conferences with hundreds of employees or customers or being able to deliver all of the James Bond movies to a buyer in a few minutes.
Only 27% of Australian businesses make transactions over the net and only 60% have a website. The switch to broadband will change these figures, making the gap between successful and unsuccessful businesses even wider. Every new technology creates casualties out of those unable to adapt. The number of businesses that file for bankruptcy will increase. Australia will have to deal with this social change.
NBN will offer a choice of plans defined by the speed of the connection. Customers can choose from plans with 12, 25, 50 and 100 megabits per second. The 12 and 25 megabits per second plans are comparable to those offered by the current providers but are less expensive. The installation will be free of charge and NBN won't require the customer to choose a plan straight away. Customers will be able to finish up their contract with their current providers before changing over to the new NBN plans.
