There`s still life in the old copper wires

A report in the Australian newspaper this week was a great reminder that we need to be making a lot more out of the country?s existing copper network.

A report in the Australian newspaper this week was a great reminder that we need to be making a lot more out of the country's existing copper network.

It's been something that I, and other industry voices, have been saying for a long time. In fact just last month an overseas expert from blah told the Australian Government exactly that.

Pointing out that "dramatic advances in transmission technology" the story* makes a case for a re-look at how best to use a copper network that is already connected to every home, business and organization is the country.

In fact I've been continually surprised at the sort of speeds researchers here and overseas have been unleashing over copper in recent years.

As the Australian article points out, copper's new cyber career really got started with the emergence of ADSL in the late 1990's that delivered speeds of around 1 Mbps.

But the new, improved ADSL+ is about 20 times faster than that and with no compromise of voice over the same line. Welcome to large data files and video everyone over the lines you've relied on.

The barriers are distance from the exchange and as the story makes clear, you have to be within 2.5 kms to get the high speeds.

But given the technological advances we're seeing over copper it may not be that long before even those problems are overcome.

Doesn't it suggest that governments and telcos should be looking more aggressively at how to optimize a network that most of the country has at their fingertips?

Don't get me wrong, I love the promise of fibre, but didn't someone say, if it ain't broke don't fix it?

John Fennell
See the full story in the Australian IT section at http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,24059414-5013037,00.html