NBN needed in emergencies

ABC Radio called at 8:10am asking for comment on the National Broadband Network (NBN). They wanted me to say that Australia was well behind the UK with broadband. I declined to say this, pointing out that if everyone in Australia agreed to live in Sydney, we would then have a similar population density to the UK and it would be easy to get them broadband.

One thing the NBN needs is a battery backup lasting at least 4 hours, so the system keeps running in an emergency. Failing to design the system for this would be unethical for ICT professionals involved in the project. The responsible decision makers involved, from the minister down would have to answer to a court if deaths result during a disaster.