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Father of Internet Praises Australia Publicly Owned FTTH Network
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on
Vint Cerf recently discussed the importance of Australia's Open Access National Broadband Network.
Google vice-president and chief internet evangelist Vint Cerf said the plan to construct a fibre-to-the-home network to 93 per cent of the nation was a "stunning" investment.
"I continue to feel a great deal of envy because in the US our broadband infrastructure is nothing like what Australia has planned," he said.
"I consider this to be a stunning investment in infrastructure that in my view will have very long-term benefit. Infrastructure is all about enabling things and I see Australia is trying to enable innovation.
He went on to discuss the difficulty of quantifying the economic gains from the network, comparing it to the ways the Interstate Highway system in the US fundamentally changed our economy.
Australia's approach is incredibly bold and far-sighted. Compare that to the Obama's visionary goals of the federal government doing practically nothing more than hoping a reliance on a few massive providers (wireline and wireless) does not leave us too far behind peer nations.
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