The first green shoots of a new fibre to every home, except for lots of homes NBN are sprouting
Saturday, 23 February 2013
Jack Welch was a very good CEO. He ran General Electric for quite a while.
Jack had a range of business maxims, or sayings. One of them related to "Not Invented Here" syndrome.
"Not Invented Here" is a syndrome that companies, governments, even radio hosts can suffer from. To Jack it meant that if an idea or a product was "Not Invented Here" then it was no good, it couldn't be used, it had to be run down and rubbished.
Over time, Jack got his people to forget about being right and only promoting stuff that was invented by them. He got his people to broaden their horizons and to start sourcing lower cost and higher quality input components from outside GE - profits and efficiencies lifted substantially.
"Not Invented Here" can be a very effective handbrake on your career.
Kevin Rudd and Stephen Conroy invented the idea that fibre to the home was the best possible way to advance the cause of broadband internet in Australia.
Everything else will just have to get junked, copper, ADSL, HFC - all of them were "Not Invented Here". They are history. Don't talk to me about the money!
Now Fibre to the Home is very expensive. I hope that when Stephen Conroy's reign of free-capital is over we might drop the "Not Invented Here" and consider more efficient alternatives. It would appear that Mike Quigley is already thinking that way.
Debate on best NBN options welcome
- From:AAP
- February 22, 2013 4:01PM
THE boss of the national broadband network builder is open to a debate about alternative technologies for the future of Australia's telecommunications systems.
The Labor government has directed NBN Co to build high-speed broadband optic-fibre cable to 93 per cent of homes, schools and business across Australia by June 2021, with the rest to be provided by fixed wireless and satellite services.
Opposition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull advocates a greater mix of technologies, with more emphasis on the current fixed copper lines and pay-TV cables to improve broadband services in a shorter timeframe.
NBN Co chief executive Mike Quigley, addressing the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia at a luncheon in Canberra on Friday, said the telecoms industry was well placed to provide more information.
That piece was published in full at The Australian here.
Can you imagine how much drama we'd be having if the Prima Donna di Tutti Prima Donni Kevin Rudd was still the PM and someone tried to change the immutable perfect KRudd designed NBN? Or even a bit of its detailed programmatic specificity? NIH in overdrive.