Australia Could Be Getting 1Gbps Internet By The End The Year

Currently if you are interested in getting your hands on some Fiber optic internet with super fast 1Gbps or more speeds then you can only do that by going to Provo, Austin or Kansas City (in the USA) and using Google’s Fiber service. Or failing that you could use Japan’s just launched 2Gbps internet service in collaboration with Sony. However, that really is about it in terms of your options. Although if Australia’s NBN (National Broadband Network) stay true to their word then we could be seeing 1Gbps internet in Australia by the end of this year.

According to NBN its wholesale internet provision would offer a 1Gbps service for AU$15o/US$155 a month. There would also be a 500mbps and 250mbps service as well. Note that there will also be ISP fees and other costs added to this price so expect it to be a lot higher than US$155. This is because NBN provide wholesale open-access data but ISPs still have to split this connection up and deliver it to consumers and businesses.

Most households will find very little use for such ridiculously high speeds but it is nice to see the internet moving forward and Australia looks very lucky if this actually happens.

However, there have been many criticisms of the plan that are VERY significant. They include, but are not limited to:

• These high speeds are being rolled out to areas where it isn’t needed and Central Business Districts (CBDs) and high density residential areas are being neglected
• The technology is capable of 1Gbps but under current plans 1Gbps will only run to each node/exchange and after being divided only 100mbps will be supported at household level (unless you have enough money to get a node/exchange fitted at your address which some business would be capable of)
• This fiber rollout plan had already been started 2 years ago and progress is very slow so the target of “by the end of this year” may only be true for a minority of people
• Australia’s opposition party wants to reduce it to 50mbps at household level and based on early opinion polls it seems they will win the next election

So the potential is there for 1Gbps internet in Australia, but politics and corner-cutting will probably stop it from happening. What are your thoughts on this story?

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