I retired from personal blogging in July 2008 but you can find me over at blog.xero.com
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Lots of noise at the moment about Broadband, but in the articles there are few examples of why we actually need Broadband connectivity.
Here are two examples. One business, one personal.
At AfterMail we signed up for a US phone service called Packet8. For $US35 per month per extension we have a US phone number and free calling anywhere in North America. Now on top of the cost savings, this helped our business as when we dialed sales prospects we appeared to be calling from the US, even though we were in Wellington. US people contacting us felt we were closer because of our phone numbers. This is important not just for sales but for support as well.
We soon discovered that the VOIP calls from NZ were not of sufficient quality that we could use it for sales calls. Our suspicion is VOIP is deliberately throttled. The impact of that is we have to call using a New Zealand PSTN number which immediately causes an objection for our prospects. A simple example of where the lack of broadband connectivity to the outside world stifles our opportunity.
The personal example.
The most valuable things in my house are photos and videos of the family. Everything else is replaceable. Major pain but all replaceable. Video’s are not. I want that data backed up and off site. Burning it to a DVD is slow and requires a manual process. I might forget to do it for a month and also I need to get it off site still. An hour of video might be 13GB of raw data. ADSL over copper is not enough. We need massive bandwidth to the home, just for the most basic application of backing up your personal memories.
Bandwidth, from home and work, to the outside world is infrastructure that provides a huge opportunity for New Zealand to combat our significant traditional barrier of distance. Phone calls, Conferencing, IM, Web Demo’s, Video Conferencing can/could work now with bandwidth. Next generation collaboration applications will allow richer interaction.
I’m about to do another couple of weeks in Europe. I’m slightly nervous that there is a chance that bird flu hype in Europe might escalate and I get trapped there for a while. In this climate I really want to travel less, not more. Suddenly our isolated nature becomes and advantage, if we can communicate richly.
Bandwidth allows us to quickly develop businesses that operate around the globe, forge relationships outside of our borders and enriches our lives. Investments in Bandwidth and creating a regulatory environment that encourages investment in this infrastructure is much better than reallocating resources. It gives us an opportunity to fundamentally grow the pie so everyone wins.
Is Theresa doing the best for Telecom Shareholders. Probably, in the short term. But it’s short sighted management to devote so much energy to maintaining the flawed status quo. It’s too important for New Zealand. Telecom should have the balls to embrace the new economy, change the rules. Their relatively size and cash gives them the best chance to innovate. They are better equipped than anyone else to benefit from any new model.
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