After fumbling Rupert’s last dictate – mandatory internet censorship -- the Oz labour government is embarking on a broadband scheme which puts new meaning in the terms ‘overkill’ and ‘wild spending!’ A forty three (43) BILLION dollar nationwide project to install fibre optic to the home! That is a crazy amount of public money in view of the fact that government is the least qualified organisation to undertake such a project.
Murdoch, empire in decline
In an interview on Lateline Business last night, the Oz CEO of AAPT, Paul Broad, clearly demonstrated with plain maths the economic lunacy of the scheme; the best case scenario would incur a $200/month fee for the new fibre optic service when costs today average about $35/month for broadband usage! Why this outrageous and unviable undertaking from a PM who has never had an original idea in his pathetic, bureaucratic, life?
In a word, PANIC!
The effects the internet is having on mainstream propaganda (news) the print media, TV, entertainment, movies etc, cannot be overestimated. Newspapers are going the way of the Thylacine, TV audiences are 'tubing' online, cinemas are reeling from P2P movie and music piracy BUT most FEARED by the magnates is the POPULAR DISCOURSE running at 180 degrees to that formulated by the powers.
What we have today is an explosive expansion of the people’s VOICE via the UNCENSORED medium of the internet. And not surprisingly, the popular discourse is running counter to the prescribed, mainstream discourse -- and that is a major problem for the ‘powers.’
It is amusing at times observing two diametrically opposed discourses vying for dominance. Nevertheless, the media magnates have no illusions, the independents are WINNING, hands down – the solution, introduce censorship through the guise of ‘protecting society’ from child porn, which in Oz also translates as “unwanted content” and “P2P” technologies – Rupert is not happy and he is no fool; his media empire is taking on the appearance of Swiss Cheese!
The first order went out, control the flow of information and slowly but surely eliminate the dissenting voice and other technologies threatening profits and power – the Obama sell failed before he was inaugurated as president, such is the ubiquity and power of the independents!
However, it was soon discovered that internet censorship could not be implemented due to resistance from major broadband providers and the existence of a less than adequate communications infra-structure. Gaining control of the medium became imperative; implementing CENSORSHIP and providing acceptable performance would thereby be possible. So the order from on high, ‘FIX IT’ (and fuck the cost, the people are paying!)
It remains to be seen which political party will take the incompetent, dunces prize – it is currently held by the conservatives; former communications minister, Richard Alston paid $6 million for a $150K web package. But Rudd’s (Murdoch’s) project would make Alston look thrifty.
[This piece is but one of millions of unified voices protecting free speech, liberty, democracy and justice – IN OTHER WORDS, RUPERT, YOU AND YOUR KIND ARE GOING DOWN!
Keep one eye focused on the little fleas, Rudd and Conroy, doing the bidding of media and financial elites and remember, 'one term government!'
We favour independents (real representation) in government and on the net – where did YOU think it was going, Rupert?]
Errand boy Comms Minister, Stephen 'yez bozz' Conroy
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/other-projects-will-pay-for-harebrained-scheme-20090408-a0y4.html
by fleet 2009-04-08 21:28:22
Excerpt:
"ALI MOORE: Why do you think the numbers for the Government's national broadband network don't stack up?
PAUL BROAD: Well if you project yourself 10 years ahead, you have a $43 billion investment. On any sort of reasonable return, say of 10 per cent, you've got to generate $4.3 billion just to make a return on the investment. And you add up all the bits to run a wholesale and retail business, you'll see that the average punter will be paying something like $200 a month for this service. And when you think today they get not 100 megabits, but they get probably 50, 45, for about - well, for less than half that. I mean, I just don't think that people'll are going to pay double for something they don't need. And I always get reminded of the Cross City Tunnel. You know, wonderful piece of infrastructure, but no one wants to use it for the price.
ALI MOORE: You say double, but isn't it really too early to work out exactly what the price structures are going to be? Because the range in the market now is anything from 55 up. Can you really say what it's going to take to make the network viable?
PAUL BROAD: Well the simple maths are, you work it out, you say $43 billion, 10 per cent, that's 4.3. Run a wholesale and retail business, you're probably after another $4 billion. So that's $8 billion a year you got to generate from 8 million customers. That's if everybody else turned off Telstra, asked Optus and went to this system. You did that in the most optimistic case - the most optimistic case; it's hard for the maths to come out anything less than $200 a month."
See link for entire Transcript:
http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/business/items/200904/s2538992.htm