Joshua Gans from the Melbourne Business School says the media are missing the main game when they keep harping on about the need for the NBN to make a commercial return.
He says the social benefits are the real story, no one is going to make money from selling access, so it should be given away from the start. Independent consultant Kevin Morgan has a different view. He says the whole project lives in the realm of fantasy and secrecy.
These are just a couple of the views expressed at the Senate Select Committee on the NBN’s public hearing in Melbourne earlier this month (7 October). In this half hour summary of the one day talkfest you’ll also hear from:
- Greg Wyler from 03b Networks says low orbit satellites can provide the backhaul
- Elizabeth Barnet from Vernet doesn’t want the NBN to be built without considering the high bandwidth needs of the education and research sector
- Folks from Ballarat ICT Limited tell us what a great place it is to live in — did I miss something?
- John Dubois & John Weston from Senatas ask for encryption to be built into the network
- David Ryan and Sharon Tonkin from the Grampians Rural Health alliance talk about the benefits they’re seeing from their own regional fibre network
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Bank of Canada on pause, ECB unlikely to do the same
Markets have been waxing and waning on the impact of the Delta variant, says NAB’S Gavin Friend, so no surprise equities are struggling a little. Also, no surprise that the Bank of Canada didn’t cut bond buying, but its expected the ECB will do just that later on.
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US equities back, pound hit by argy-bargy, RBA today
The pound hit hard by some Brexit argy-bargy, US equities up as Coronavirus concerns sidelined by positive ISM numbers. NAB’s David de Garis talks through it.
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You’ve had your fun, now get back to work
Balls Radio asks, how many people would you be prepared to see die to see the economy back on track? And is David Icke certifiable?
