IEEE Spectrum November, 2008 - 7

100 bIllIon

liters of gasoline that might have been conserved in 2007 if every u.S. car had been outfitted
with a device-invented by temple university researchers-that thins fuel with an electric field

penetration rate of roughly 60 percent
likely to be used only in the more densely
Instead, analysts say, a combination
of households, according to a report
populated areas, can come in two flavors,
of technologies makes the most sense.
by the Information Technology and
fiber to the node or fiber to the home. In
Budde says the best mix would be
Innovation Foundation, in Washington, fiber to the node, fiber-optic cables form
fiber to the home in all major metroD.C. While 12 Mb/s would be a huge
most of the network. Then copper wires
politan areas and smaller cities, with
improvement, it would still leave the
branch off from node stations-usually
WiMax linking the homes up to 50 km
country lagging behind others in
serving a few blocks' worth of buildings- outside the cities. For the 3 percent of
its region, notably Japan and South
the population living in remote rural
Bamaga
Korea, where speeds of 63.6 Mb/s and
areas, satellite is the only option, says
49.5 Mb/s, respectively, are average.
Budde. Satellite would be a great deal
Darwin
Nhulunbuy
Weipa
Two main bidders have emerged.
slower than fiber and wireCooktown
One is Terria, a consortium of telecom
less-with download speeds
Kununurra
Cairns
companies including SingTel Optus,
between
800 kilobits per secBroome
Karumba
Australia's second-largest
ond
and
1.5
Mb/s, and upload
Townsville
Port Hedland
carrier. Terria will
speeds of around 500 kb/s,
NORTHERN
Mackay
Karratha
TERRITORY
compete against Telstra,
says analyst David Gross
Rockhampton
Australia's principal
of Telecom Pragmatics.
QUEENSLAND
Camarvon
telecommunications
The Australian
WESTERN
AUSTRALIA
company. Telstra, in
plan demands a fiber
Brisbane
SOUTH
which the Australian
network, so it is unclear
Geraldton
AUSTRALIA
Grafton
government held a conwhether the government
NEW SOUTH
Port
Perth
Eucla
Ceduna
trolling interest until
would support proposals
WALES
Newcastle
Augusta
Fremantle Esperance
Sydney
2006, already has much
that include a large
Augusta
Wollongong
Adelaide
Population Density (SLA)
of the infrastructure for
wireless component. Peter
ACT
<1 per square kilometer
Albany
a broadband network in
Moon,
managing director
VICTORIA
>10 000 per km 2
place. Paul Budde, managing
of
Horizon
Broadband
Bairnsdale
Portland
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics
director of BuddeComm, in Bucketty,
Communications in
Melbourne
Australia, estimates that the Telstra fiber
Ballarat, Australia, says the
big empty: Australia's human
TASMANIA Hobart
network could be expanded to serve all
government's
position seems
geography makes a national fiber
of metropolitan Australia at the required
to be shifting as it becomes
network difficult. IllustratIon: armand VenezIano
speed in early 2009. The challenge, he
evident that wireless is a more costsays, will be providing service to the
effective solution. The government is
suburbs, small towns, and rural areas.
to service the individual customer. The
thought to be expecting a proposal
Telstra has a clear edge, but in the
use of a neighborhood's existing copper
with 8 to 10 percent wireless, says
event Terria snags the bid, it will push
greatly reduces the cost. But broadband
Moon. But the general consensus
for an open network so that it can access
speed over copper cables is limited by
in the industry is that wireless will
Telstra's infrastructure. "From a national
distance and the number of subscribers.
compose 20 to 30 percent of the
economic point of view-just like elecFiber to the home eliminates
system. The government "should
tricity, water, and gas-it does not make
the need for node stations but
have been technology-agnostic from
sense for that infrastructure to be duplirequires running new fiber lines
the beginning," Moon says. "That
cated or tripled to serve the same functo each building, something that
would have been the smart thing."
tion," says Ravi Bhatia, CEO of Primus,
makes economic sense mostly in
Moon is hoping to have his antenna
a company in the Terria consortium.
greenfield developments, says
technology incorporated in the wireless
The bidders could not disclose the
Vince Pizzica, special advisor on
component of whichever bid wins.
exact details of their proposals because of
technology strategy for Telstra. An
Once the bid is awarded, the winner
a government-issued gag order, but both
entire network of fiber to the home
will have to rush to roll out the network.
bids most likely include a combination
would be extremely expensive. Mark
Optimists still cling to an April 2009
of fiber optics and wireless services such
Lutkowitz, a cofounder of Telecom
time frame for most of the network to
as WiMax, which, ideally, has downPragmatics, in Nashville, estimates
be up and running. But some analysts
load data rates of 10 Mb/s to 70 Mb/s,
that it could cost Australia as much
estimate that it will take as long as
but in practice is more like 1 to 2 Mb/s.
as AUS $30 billion-well over the
15 years to deploy a full network.
The fiber part of the network, which is government's AUS $4.7 billion subsidy.
-Monica Heger
14

nA * Ieee Spectrum * november 2008

www.spectrum.ieee.org

http://www.spectrum.ieee.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Spectrum November, 2008