Yea! The Telecom stranglehold is to be broken and we will see the dawn of a new age where real broadband services are available and New Zealand will onece again become the envy of the other OECD countries as we embrace the new technology and enjoy the benefits offered by the "digital lifestyle".......yeah, right!
Why am I so sceptical? Well the Government has been rabbiting on about the need for broadband deployment for a number of years and have finally plucked up the courage to do something about it. In the meantime however, the building industry continues to build houses with the technology infrastructure from last century. The owners of these homes will have great difficulty in using the new services afforded by broadband technology. (VOIP, video VOIP, IPTV, etc.)
Today I had the opportunity to inspect a new display home being built in Porirua. This home would be in the $500K bracket I guess.
I was astonished to note that there was no provision for a data network....nada...nothing. Furthermore, the cabling that was installed for TV reticulation made no allowance for flat screen (wall mounted) technology.
So my question is.....if broadband is so pivotal to the health and well being of the nation, why hasn't the Government encouraged the building industry to get with the program?
My rant for the day.