Broadband - a tool for the times

It seems there is a serious disconnect between arguments for the operational separation of Telstra and the reality of the current situation, viz. rapid climate change. We are facing what can only be described as a battle for the planet, and we must just as rapidly put ourselves on a war footing if we are to have any chance of winning this battle.

We need no less than a (worldwide) cultural change – from consumer to conserver. As a not-for-profit organization focused on developing a (global) model for community engagement in climate change action, we see high speed broadband as an essential tool in the reconditioning of people’s attitudes and behaviour. As a frontline nation with more to lose than most, we must get this model right and robust here if we are to export the model and have a significant impact on global emissions.

While public debate can be conducted in the print media, and to a lesser extent television and radio, high speed broadband can deliver the message and the information required into homes in an engaging and effective (including interactive) way other mediums cannot match. It is a tool for the times.

Whatever the merits of competition on paper (and there is an equally valid argument that it would compromise efficiency), now is not the time to divert attention from the really serious challenge of global warming. (For those still basking in the belief that it’s scare mongering, why are Melbourne’s deciduous trees in bud in the middle of winter, and before they had even lost their leaves?)

Telstra is a behemoth in Australia, a bit like an aircraft carrier in a flotilla of fishing boats. It is a correspondingly big target, particularly for competitors (who of course are only pursuing their own self-interest, and include another ‘monopoly’, SingTel). But love it or loath it, Telstra is an invaluable asset of national strategic importance at this time. Sensible policy would no more distract such a strategic industry with internal reorganisation in the face of the climate change challenge than we would scrap an aircraft carrier at the outbreak of war.

As for the issue of predatory pricing, surely even the most rapacious telco would realise it’s no use building a vastly expensive network if nobody can afford to use it. The National Broadband Network will need customers and lots of them if it is not to become Australia’s most expensive white elephant. That is the competitive burr under the saddle for Telstra.

The Federal Government should cut to the climate change chase and instruct Telstra to build the network as soon as possible, starting now.

Hal and Don Hewett
Global Green Plan Foundation
More information at www.globalgreenplan.org