From Day 1, Senator Joyce has pilloried the Government’s mega-dollar NBN as a “Nation Bankrupting Network”.
And just as with his other big calls … the ever-rising US debt level, and carbon trading being “The Greatest Scam On Earth” … Barnaby is right.
From Smarthouse.com.au:
NBN A Flop As Consumers & Business Reject Fast Broadband
Early indications are that the NBN is struggling to attract customers with only 11% of homes signing on to the $36 Billion dollar broadband network where it has already been rolled out. In some places the take up rate is less than 6%.
According to new information only one in nine homes have taken up the service in towns like Armadale [sic] NSW which is Tony Windsor’s electorate of New England.
Late last week Senator Nick Xenophon was told that the sign up rate in Brunswick, Victoria was only 5.5%.
“What we are seeing now is that the cost benefit analysis that should have been done, is now being done in actuality and it’s showing the back of the envelope calculations done by Communications Minister Senator Conroy is not worth the paper it’s written on said Senator Barnaby Joyce.
SingTel Optus Boss Paul O Sullivan has also waded into the debate claiming that the NBN could become a “huge” failure unless the Company rolling it out NBN Co is far more transparent.
NBN Co and Comms and Broadband Minister Stephen Conroy have defended the early take-up rate of NBN services claiming the poor use of the service was not a relevant issue. “People need to finish their existing retail contracts now before they migrate over to the NBN,” the spokesman said. “But eventually, because of the Telstra deal, all of its customers will be migrated over to the NBN.”
The Australian newspaper recently revealed that a survey of company directors showed that 55 per cent disagree with the National Broadband Network, compared with 35 per cent in favour. Those who strongly oppose the NBN (32 per cent) more than double those who strongly support it (15 per cent).
Previous warnings have come from The Economist, the internationally respected magazine whose intelligence unit has compared broadband projects around the world.
It described the NBN’s price tag as “exorbitant” and noted it will cost taxpayers 24 times more than South Korea’s network, for a tenth of the speed. A later audit found Australia’s plan the most expensive of all the countries surveyed, including Greece and Qatar. It described the NBN as an example of “extreme government intervention” and noted it involved less competition than schemes in China.
Senator Conroy’s response has been to dismiss criticism as “ideological dogma”.
The Nation Bankrupting Network.
It’s Labor’s first big success.
Barnaby Is Right 
Strange that Telstra is now doing a bullying job for people to change to Telstra. They won’t get off the phone. I’m staying with Optus. In spite of their faults their customer service I have found to be as good as possible. Wasn’t Tony Windsor bribed by Julia Gillard with the promise of one of the first NBN roll outs? Heard he isn’t on boradband anyway Might be wrong but the take up in the district is appalling as it is everywhere it is rolled out. The excuse that people have to finish their contracts with other companies does not hold water. Barnaby Joyce is right, it will turn out to be Gillard’s biggest fail yet. Before it’s finished, if ever, there will be new technology in any case, which will be better.
That’s correct Betty. I live in Armidale, and only 2% have signed up. Why would we, I got great reception on dial up, because I am near the mast. Changed to Broadband ADLS1, good too. ADLS2 for 15 gigs
at $29.99 with .tpg. My land line is with Telstra as well as mobile. And I have a special modem as my computer is in a room away from the telephone inlet. The only thing that is faster, is looking at UTube videos or the like. I don’t play games or down load movies.
But the same thing happened in UK years ago. Only 33% of the people that could get optics signed up and the company was going broke, so is Silex if you read the latest. However, useless for people living outside town, they had to get on wireless. And one guy who lived miles from the nearest outlet, was quoted 8,000 pounds to be connected. Telstra are being smart. Remember that they own most of the lines, and other firms like Optus hire them off them. They will have to replace the copper wire exchanges before they can access optics.
A white elephant in a country with dispersed populations. Fancy Conroy comparing us with Singapore and Hong Kong the twit. Where all the population is bunched together.
Actually, from Day 1, Baraby touted the NBN as a great thing. let me quote Mr Joyce from the press release on his website from the day the NBN was announced: “How could we disagree with something that is quite evidently our idea. As I said in 2005, rolling out fibre optic infrastructure across Australia would be like a Glass Snowy, Mr Rudd has used the same analogy today.”
Sounds an awful lot like praise to me….
The issue at hand is the execution. Not the principle.
Further to previous, you are guilty of selective quoting, “NBN Myths”.
Following is Senator Joyce’s entire press release. Note the all-important context that you failed to include in your comment – the issue of cost, specifically vis-a-vis the Govt’s prior wasteful spending:
http://www.barnabyjoyce.com.au/Issues/Thisweekinpolitics/tabid/56/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/781/The-Nationals-Broadband-Network.aspx
As I said, the issue is the execution. Not the principle.
I didn’t know that by the way NBN myths. I know at the campaign launch in Armidale, Tony W was all for it, and one of his greatest supporters told me Silex was a good investment and he had told Tony about it.(Optic fibre and cold fusion manufacturers) Silex have just shown a 31 million dollar loss I believe? But I didn’t know nor did anyone then, how expensive it would turn out to be. But I believe Turnbull was correct in his assertion that optic fibre was an expensive alternative to ADSL2 and wireless that I am on. And the coalition’s idea was a better alternative. Wireless! I get 54 mpbs for $29.99 per month.
And I believe tpg hire their lines from Telstra, in fact I was told by a NBN rep recommended to me, by Tony’s office, that they could fit me up with
optic for only $29.95 per month. How many GB eh? And that all of Armidale would be fitted up next year with it.
Who wants a car that can drive at 200 km an hour, when one never drives at more than 60 km. Most times, a 100 km at most on a national highway. If it doesn’t need fixing, why try to fix it, eh.
Tooooo expensive. Like wind mills and solar farms, another talk fest I feel comin’
Nite folks, much love and also it doesn’t matter what you write, at least you are interested in debate. And we can all learn from it.
They think quality is all that matters. Why are we not all driving around in Rolls Royces?
It’s quality versus cost, stupid.
Premium – low volume, high margin; mass market – high volume, low margin. To meet 93% of the market, it has to be appropriately cost-sensitive. It ain’t. Never gonna happen. No one in business for more than 5 minutes believes they can beat that law of commerce. It just shows how much business experience is in the government – less than 5 minutes’ worth!!!