Friday, August 31, 2018

Why Australia's internet has turned into a literal car crash - CNET

Why Australia's internet has turned into a literal car crash - CNET:
"The green box that represents everything wrong with Australia's long-fumbling attempts to give its citizens the speedy internet access they're clamoring for.
On a sidewalk in a northwestern Sydney suburb, there's a box.
A pale green box.
It stands 4 feet tall.
Inside the box?
The internet.
Known as a "street cabinet" or "node," this box contains the equipment needed to deliver internet access to hundreds of homes and businesses in the area.
On March 7, an out-of-control Suzuki Swift slammed into the node
See the source image...The incident disabled internet access to 280 residents for approximately 48 hours.
Just two weeks later, on March 22, another car skidded off the road and took out the node.
...Local internet services were again crippled for 48 hours.
...A problem borne of the country's insistence on using decades-old inferior copper phone lines for internet access as the world moves to high-speed fibre.
Kellyville's node represents how the government turned a blind eye to the future of internet service in Australia, home to over 20 million internet users, favouring outdated technology considered cheaper and faster to upgrade.
Ultimately, it shows why Australia's long-struggling National Broadband Network, the largest infrastructure project in the country's history, may be doomed to fail..."
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