[nfbcs] National Broadband Network In Tasmania Australia

[Marvin Hunkin]

hi.
Aroara Energy in tasmania.
has bypassed telstra.
and is starting to lay fibre optic cables in hobart, scots vale and smifton.
i read on the it newseltter from http://www.news.com.au
that they have started laying trenches and putting in cable for that.
the enegy provider for tasmania.
is putting this part of the nbm (national broadband network)
and they say by febuary to june 2010, these towns will have high speed
internet up to 100 mps per sec.
this will cost about $500 million and will take 5 years to complete for the
whole state.
the treasurer Michael Eyred said.
so looks like there will be more competititon and lower prices for people
with disabilities and also the genral public.
so will the new nbn be accessible for vips.
who knows.
until it is set up.
who will over see this project.
how it will be implmented.
How much it will cost for consumers.
The critical fact that it must be accessible to people with disabilities,
especially those who are blind and low vision.
hope the blindness agencies and the peak disaibility bodies are keeping
their eyes on the ball on this issue.
we do not want to be left behind, when the internet was first devised.
they did not think about that people who are blind or low vision could use
computers and the internet.
so now, organisations, governments and corporations are either willing or
forced to build accessibility into their sites.
What about Internet 2 from ibm, a year or 2 back.
of adding a second layer over the top.
and adding other features like web 2.0, interactive sites and other
multimedia features.
food for thought for our future.
cheers Marvin.
ps: so is the federal government in the states looking at the same policy.
to have a national broadband network and involve corporations like
Microsoft, Google, AT&T, Bell, etc.
what are your thoughts.