How to ignite demand for NBN bandwidth, and more

For many, the question of what will drive demand for the NBN’s bandwidth remains unanswered and while the there are multiple initiatives seeking to provide answers, Australia would do well to emulate the USA where a new body, US Ignite, has been created to do just that, but with very broad membership and hugely ambitious goals.

5G breakthrough? 5G baloney more like

Here we go again. News of another wireless ‘breakthrough’ has become mainstream news and sent press and commentators into a flurry of speculation as to whether or not it spells doom for the NBN.

Docking the deskphone market

Watching ShoreTel demonstrate its iPhone/iPad telephone handset dock last week I decided I was witnessing the beginning of the end for the deskphone as we know it.

How long’s a piece of copper?

The answer to that question is important. The bandwidth that the Coalition will be able to deliver to customers over its proposed fibre to the node network is highly dependent on the length of copper from the node to the customer, but neither it nor anybody outside Telstra seems to know what the average distance from nodes in the current network is.

Glitzy Galaxy launch: it’s not about the phone

Surrounded by the glitz, the glamour and the sheer extravagance of Samsung’s Galaxy S4 launch at the Sydney Opera House last week I had to keep reminding myself that this was not an event of even minor historic importance, such as the launch of a new company or the opening of a major building: mobile phone models these days generally survive for two years at most before the being superseded by the next greatest thing.