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Why can't Labor sell the NBN's benefits?

The National Broadband Network (NBN) is Australia's biggest-ever infrastructure project, we're told. So you'd think the government could do a better job of selling its benefits than TV advertising containing little more than vague generalities and Communications Minister Stephen Conroy's magic smart dishwasher.
Written by Stilgherrian , Contributor

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The National Broadband Network (NBN) is Australia's biggest-ever infrastructure project, we're told. So you'd think the government could do a better job of selling its benefits than TV advertising containing little more than vague generalities and Communications Minister Stephen Conroy's magic smart dishwasher.

Even the head of NBN Co, Mike Quigley, seemed stuck last week when Business Spectator asked him to explain the consumer applications for 100-megabit per second fibre connectivity.

For Patch Monday this week, Stilgherrian sets the challenge: what are the real-world NBN applications that could help sell the project? We hear from Jonathon Fergus from UK-based development firm Spiral Arm, avid photographer and GPS enthusiast Wolf Cocklin and economist Martin Jones.

Stilgherrian also sums up the week's NBN-related politics, and takes his usual random look at the week's IT news.

To leave an audio comment for Patch Monday, Skype to stilgherrian, or phone Sydney 02 8011 3733.

Running time: 33 minutes, 15 seconds

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