The Federal Government has announced the winner of the National Broadband Network tender process. Nobody wins! Yay! I’m sure you’re thinking WTF? right about now, so lets get into some of the details.

The current tender process has been ended and the Government will create a new private-public owned company to spend $43 billion on fibre to the premises. That’s significantly better than fibre to the node. Kevin Rudd calls it “Nation building”. I call it bloody awesome.

The company structure will be such that the Government is majority shareholder and the company will provide wholesale services only. No more monopoly held by Telstra – that surely has to be a good thing. Well worth $43 billion I’d say.

90% of premises in Australia are to receive this new fibre to the premises service, which offers speeds of up to 100Mbps. That is just amazing to think about, considering most of us can get 1Mbps at the most with current infrastructure. The other 10% of Australia receives broadband through “next generation” wireless and satelite services. Speeds will only be 12 Mbps. Only.

It stinks of Nationalism. I don’t care though. Years of neglect of the country’s broadband networks by the current big players means that I’ll happily have the Government own the new network. They intend to sell down their stake-holding in the company within five years (market conditions may vary this) so I’m not to concerned at all. Just give me good Internet.

The low point of the announcement was having Senator Stephen Conroy drone on about the benefits of the package. It seems Kevin Rudd has sidelined him yet again so that he can take the glory. We didn’t need him here now and we don’t need him to filter the Internet.

I wonder whether this will be a way the Government gets their filter into our homes. If they are the wholesaler, they can say “Hey, we decide what you can access. So here, have our filtered feed. Guaranteed to be free of smut and free speech.” That is one worry, but hopefully they will work out the filter isn’t going to work anyway.

The Government also announced immediate funding to get fibre optic backbones developed into major regional centres, such as Darwin, Broken Hill, Mount Gambier and Mount Isa. This is to be done as soon as possible, so hopefully these regional centres will get some competitive broadband services soon.

Perhaps Senator Conroy could use a fibre optic backbone. Might make backflipping easier for him when it comes time to back down from the filter plan.

Senator Stephen Conroy has posted a new blog post called “Minister Conroy on: Promoting a civil and confident society online“. Sounds like crap, Senator.

Sen. Conroy’s blog post is nothing more than Government spin doctors working the media. What concerns me most is this section:

We are happy to have an open debate about these technical issues. However, the Government does not view this debate as an argument about freedom of speech.

Freedom of speech is fundamentally important in a democratic society and there was never any suggestion that the Australian Government would seek to block political content. In this context, claims that the Government’s policy is analogous to the approach taken by countries such as Iran, China and Saudi Arabia are not justified.

Australian society has always accepted that there is some material which is not acceptable, particularly for children. …  All the Government is now seeking to do is to examine how technology can assist in filtering internationally-hosted content.

Why am I concerned? People are buying it.

At work, the verdict is that I’m into Child Pornography. Why? Well why else would I want there to be no filter? I’m wanting to access illegal sites.  The rest just don’t give a toss about whether there is a filter or not. It won’t affect them and that’s all they care about.

So what can we do to win over the average Joe?

1. Take action in a professional manner.
2. Take action in small teams.
3. Take action to get the facts right.
4. Take action now.

Take action in a professional manner

It is important that we look at who we are trying to win over. We aren’t after the radicals or the net-savvy geeks – that is preaching to the converted. We need to speak to the educated middle class. Remember that the education standards are higher than ever, so people want a polished look.

Having the right equipment (PA systems, data projector, an appropriate room) conveys messages of authority and professionalism. Having a smartly-dressed presenters(s) making good, clear arguments adds to the message. Banner waving isn’t going to convince them.

Take action in small teams

We need to make small efforts to make big wins. One small group of people at a time, properly informed on the issues and implications is better than hundreds and hundreds of people who know nothing about the argument. Each person we get enthused and involved helps to keep the message moving.

Having well informed supporters provides more chance that the message will stick and be consistant. Hand out flyers, hold presentations in librarys or perhaps go to the meeting of a local social group (perhaps a playgroup or local sports club) and give them the facts to take home and think about themselves. Small progress will bring big results.

Take action to get the facts right.

There is no point in taking all this action if the information is wrong. We need a strong and solid message to take to the people so that each time they hear it, it consolidates their support. We need to have the facts right from the first go. No pseudo-science — only the truth. If we don’t know it, take the question down, go find the answer and come back next time (or email/call to give the answer) .

Getting it right now means staying on message and understanding all the facts and information. That way Government misinformation can be combatted swiftly. Further research may bring new points which support our position.

Take action now

There is no better time to act than now. Momentum is being won day by day thanks to the Government getting their message through to the ordinary Australian. If we want to continue to have the freedom to use an unfiltered Internet service, you need to start working now. This isn’t a case where you sit back and think, “They’ll never do it!” They are doing it!

Form local groups. Start a wiki with tips on how to support the cause and the facts of the case.  Start video blogs. Why not make a presentation at the local library or hold an information session? Write a presentation, have it filmed and DVD’d to people who request it through a website!

It might seem all a bit much, but this fight is a whole lot more than a bit much. We need to take action now before we lose our rights. The solution does not solve the problem.

The US Federal Communication Commision (FCC) recently cancelled a meeting which could have resulted in free  wireless broadband being made available, reports CNET. Strangely enough, the home of the PATRIOT Act was considering an opt-out pornography and ‘material deemed not fit for children’ filter for this free service.

The FCC was due to vote on the proposal on December 18 which would have resulted in the sale of 25Mhz of wireless spectrum. In exchange, licensees would be required to provide free Internet for those who either can’t afford, or don’t wish to pay for, a high speed Internet service.

The executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center found the filtering proposal “troubling”. “A government-mandated filter at the network level means the government can block anything it finds objectionable.”

So the US is considering filtering, but only for free Internet accessible by anyone from anywhere. The system would also allow adults to opt-out of the filter. And yet the Australian government want to filter all Internet connections? Sorry, is it opposite day?

Australians would have no way to opt-out of the filter, so would be forced to pay hard earned cash on a second rate service. I hate to say it but I think the US had the right idea — at least on the opt-out filtering.

(Reposted from another online forum)

I’ve been stewing on this for a bit but I think it needs to be said.

In my opinion, a major error with today’s rallies (and it seems not just the Brisbane one) is the connection to other political parties/agendas. I’m glad that there are many groups interested in this as an issue, but as soon as you bring the Socialist Alliance, The Greens, or the Raelians you’ve lost Joe Public.

And what of this Digital Liberation Coalition? “The Digital Liberty Coalition (’DLC’) is a non-profit grass roots community driven coalition of organisations who are standing up for free speech online.” (Always love a good quote)

So why is there very little information on which groups came together? Shouldn’t people who are signing up for membership or donating money know exactly where this money is going? Why so little transparency on their website? I’m sure it is innocent enough. Just like blocking child porn through a mandatory filter seems like a good idea.

Joe Public is sceptical of the ‘Commies under the bed’ or ‘the bloody Greenies’. On the Raelians, I’m sure some people will take the jump from Intelligent Design to Scientology as well. Do we really need to be fighting an uphill battle before it started?

What is needed to get the ear of all voters is a truly independent effort. Whatever our colour, creed and political/religious beliefs, we should be united about this one issue and have no others jumping on the bandwagon for the ride.

Selling the “Green Left” (and other publications) in the middle of the speeches? Tacky and an unneeded distraction.

I attended the Mandatory Internet Filtering protest held in Brisbane today. Here is my thoughts on the rally.

There was a good turnout of people considering the heat and humidity around at the time. 11am isn’t the best time for anything in Brisbane in summer, but when is a good time? I handed out some of the flyers and it makes me happy to know that others are interested in being informed on the issues.

The ABC and Brisbane Times (edit: updated link)have picked up the story, however it is a shame that the Courier-Mail (or as I like to call it, the Curious Snail), hasn’t as yet run anything. Shame, Courier-Mail. Shame.

It was a shame that some of the speakers were not heard by all due to megaphone issues — the megaphone wasn’t so mega. There was a good cross section of the community at the protest and considering it is hard to get a gathering of geeks in a place without connectivity it is a good first step.

I’ve read on Twitter that there was concern at the use of in-jokes on placard and how this does not have any meaning to the general layperson. However I think it is important to have this issue to relate to all. The in-jokes help some people feel included. Having a mix would be a good solution, and keeping in-jokes out of official flyers is good.

Where to from here? That’s for another time.