in my head : roisin murphy - ramalama ( bang bang )this is more of an interim update than an actual post . i've been spending every waking minute at mag nation because the wireless back home has been unstable and it's starting to piss me off . besides the amazing chai latte and awesome reads , there internet is f r e e and s t a b l e .
. : australia disconnected :.
in this age where digital technology is prevalent , every byte counts. with a recent US study revealing that australia's broadband is comparable to that of a third world nation, it seems that the overall consensus from professionals and the public is that australia is still severely lagging behind in its broadband offerings .
the study conducted by washington-based information technology and innovation foundation reported that australians pay nine times more for broadband that is thirty five times slower than the world's fastest network. OECD confirmed this in the release of its communications outlook 2007, which stated that australia's broadband was among the world's most expensive and slowest . for a country that prides itself on being globally competitive , her digital infrastructure is abysmal to say the least .
if there is anything good that has come out of the recent elections , it is that it has exposed one of the most difficult conundrums crippling the nation and making her the subject of ridicule among her peers . it is evident that the demand for high speed internet access at affordable prices has long been an issue that the howard government has struggled with .
there is talk of great expansion plans by members of the labour party , who are aggressively pushing to establish the national broadband network . communications spokesman stephen conroy highlighted the importance of a decent broadband structure for the benefit of the nation's economy , education and social developmen . if we overlook the fact that we're in the midst of an election campaign and facts may be altered to suit the different party's political agendas, there is actual logic in the arguments made . early this year , roy morgan research undertook the task of finding out what increased internet speeds would do for small businesses - 64% of companies would find it easier to innovate and 58% of companies would offer new services or products .
the argument that australia's relatively small population coupled with the vast land area not making it economically sound to build a broadband infrastructure is just plain ridiculous . rural areas in the united states do not receive internet access ; but that does not mean that their major cities suffer as a result of the geographical / demographical make up of the country . how are australian companies expected to be competitive on an international economic platform when it takes five minutes longer than a rival in japan to respond to a client's e-mail ?
in a society where the internet is considered a luxury and not a necessity , it is understandable why no one sees the need for faster internet speeds . maybe the problem lies in the fact that promptness is not an australian trait . while everyone else around the world sprints towards improving response times , the australians are content with " chillin " .
australians have yet to see beyond the standard uses of the internet for other than e-mail and checking up on the weather forecasts . it is for this reason that it is unreasonable to expect cheaper internet prices . simple economics , supply and demand - if there is no significant demand for internet access , communications companies cannot lower the costs of internet price plans .
i believe that in order for australia to progress in their upgrading plans , policies and regulations need to be changed . telstra's hold on the current cable infrastructure needs to be loosened and ownership returned back to the government . if an upgraded network benefits the nation and her economy , responsibility should be on that government to provide that infrastructure .
the economist intelligence unit 2006 rankings showed optimism with australia ranking eight out of sixty countries in terms of e-readiness . now if only the politicians would stop their bickering over scandals and intra-party disputes , we might actually get australia hooked up and online with the rest of the world .
- references not included
almost there . . breathe darling breathe . .
. : edit : .
i promise a better photo update once i grab the photos from sam's cam . meanwhile these are the only ones that are already on the mac , courtesy of photobooth .
xoxoxoxoxo ,
soho's been scammed .
ps : that's not cool .
