The NBN and 4G — allies or foe?

By MELISSA MEADOWCROFT
WHAT is the National Broadband Network?
The National Broadband Network (NBN) is a Federal Government project aimed at delivering Australian’s with high speed broadband. According to the NBN Co website, the NBN will involve connecting 93 per cent of Australian homes, schools and businesses to a high-speed fibre optic network, capable of providing broadband speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second ten times faster than current speeds. The remaining premises will be connected via a combination of next-generation fixed wireless and satellite technologies providing peak speeds of 12 Megabits per second.

What is 4G Telecommunications?
According to the Shadow Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Malcolm Turnbull, “LTE or 4G wireless can operate at speeds comparable to fast fixed-line broadband with the added functionality and convenience of mobility”.
4G or Long Term Evolution (LTE) is the follow on to 3G. A 4G network requires a mobile device to be able to exchange data at 100 Mbit/sec. When fully implemented, 4G is expected to enable pervasive computing; Pervasive computing (aka ubiquitous computing) is the growing trend towards embedding microprocessors in everyday objects so they can communicate information. Pervasive computing devices are completely connected and constantly available, simultaneous connections to multiple high-speed networks. This according to Telstra will provide seamless handoffs throughout a geographical area meaning that mobile service will never drop out.

What are the benefits of fibre optic telecommunications?
Fibre optics has an extremely high bandwidth; No other cable-based data transmission medium offers the bandwidth that fibre does. High bandwidth means that even in peak periods speeds will remain high. It is easy to accommodate increasing bandwidth. Using many of the recent generations of fibre optic cabling, new equipment can be added to the inert fibre cable that can provide vastly expanded capacity over the originally laid fibre. These characteristics of fibre cable enable dynamic network bandwidth provisioning to provide for data traffic spikes and lulls. Fibre optic cabling has a resistance to electromagnetic interference so has a very low rate of bit error and virtually noise free as a result.
Fibre provides an extremely secure transmission medium, as there is no way to detect the data being transmitted by “listening in” to the electromagnetic energy “leaking” through the cable, as is possible with traditional, electron-based transmissions.

What are the disadvantages of fibre optic telecommunications?
The Installation costs of fibre optics, while dropping, are still high – Despite the fact that fibre installation costs are dropping by as much as 60% a year, installing fibre optic cabling is still relatively costly. These costs are passed onto consumers, with initial plans yet to be released by providers.

Fibre optic network also have a high susceptibility to physical damage. Fibre is a small and compact cable, and it is highly susceptible to becoming cut or damaged during installation or construction activities. Cable damage can disrupt service to large groups of people, as fibre optic cables can provide tremendous data transmission capabilities. Because of this, when fibre optic cabling is chosen as the transmission medium, it is necessary to address restoration, backup and survivability.

How will the NBN improve the Australian economy?
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports that income derived over the Internet soared by 52 per cent in the 2008-09 financial year to reach $123 billion (up $42 billion) as an additional 25,000 businesses began to received orders over the Internet and the take up of broadband rose. Enhanced opportunities for innovation, increased productivity, new product development, increased research capabilities, accelerated learning and diffusion of discovery throughout industry and the wider economy increases the total economic pie and everyone gets a larger share.

Where this scenario can occur in Australia on an International scale makes our country far more attractive to do business with and increases our own competitive advantage on the world stage. The NBN will make this happen according to the website of the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy.

How will the NBN affect the delivery of services to Australia?
It is expected that the NBN will enable the more efficient delivery of vital services, and more importantly, increase access and reduce inequity of access to vital services. The improvement in video can allow the remote delivery of practice health care. Barriers to education, both geographic and financial, are expected to be lowered as more learning can be done online, using video and other innovative applications. Government service delivery will also provide benefits to the community in access, reduction of wasted time in processing queues, increased provision of information and customer service. Again geographic barriers will be reduced increasing equity and increasing the civic responsibility of the Government.

Are 4G and the NBN allies or foes?
Whilst 4G speeds will enable mobile users increased bandwidth and therefore faster downloads than currently experienced it is impossible to achieve the speeds of the NBN using wireless technologies. Whilst wireless seems to be a strong option for internet users there are some detractors. The range of a wireless network is limited and a typical wireless router will only allow individuals within 50 to 100 metres to access the network, They are extremely susceptible to interference radio signals. Radiation etc may cause a wireless network to malfunction and networks can be accessed by any computer within range of the network’s signal so information transmitted through the network may be intercepted by unauthorized users.

The NBN and Telstra’s 4G network shouldn’t be seen as being in competition with each other; they’re two completely different technologies. The NBN provides ground level infrastructure for an Internet revolution in Australia, which will bring extremely high speed Internet access to the masses. 4G can be seen as an evolutionary step in the mobile sector, enabling much more rich Internet services to be delivered to our handsets whilst offering some of the capability of a fixed line.