If there is a white elephant in the room, where is it?

The Coalition's broadband policy slogan states that they will "Complete the current NBN cheaper and faster." This simply isn't true.

We'll continue to cover the sketchy claims of being 'faster' and 'cheaper' in other articles but for now we'll focus on the supposed similarities and differences.

The Coalition's NBN alternative is different by almost every measure. It uses different technologies to connect the bulk of the country; it has different uses and applications; it affects Australia's health service differently; it provides different levels of support in emergencies and natural disasters; it requires a different amount of power to operate; the cost of maintenance is different; the overall cost, the return on investment and the re-sale value are different; the management, ownership, governance, competition and monopoly factors will be different; it has a different life-span and upgradability issues; the effect on businesses (of all sizes) and GDP is different; the effects on television are different; the effect on Senior Citizens is different; the viability and potential for cost blowouts is different; the costs of buying broadband will be different; the reliability is different; the effect on property prices will be different; the timescale is different; the legacy is different. Ultimately, it has completely different aims.

In just about every case the Coalition's alternative compares unfavourably to the current plans - and usually in dramatic fashion. That's based upon the facts and the information currently available in the public domain.

There are few similarities: it appears that the Coalition's plans for Fixed Wireless technology and Satellite technology in rural areas may be similar (there's an near-total lack of detail in the Coalition's plans and much information is gathered through 'reading between the lines') but there are big questions regarding the differences in funding. Ultimately, the only obvious similarity is that people should be able to download web pages and videos a bit faster.

Here follows each facet listed in detail. In the spirit of crowdsourcing, and with the phenomenal success of it in terms of NBN research, if you can add any more information one way or the other, please contact us or leave the details in the comments.

Different technologies

The current NBN plans serve 93 per cent of the population with optic fibre. That means the current NBN will eventually provide absolute certainty that 93 per cent of the Australian population will have access to broadband that can operate at a known minimum speed and this speed will be future-proofed for at least the remainder of the century.

In contrast, the Coalition wants to use technology which relies upon Australia's existing copper networks. Consequently, all premises will have different connection speeds based upon their location and the haphazard quality of the copper line(s) that connects to each house. In premises with new(ish) copper that is in good condition and is near to an exchange/node cabinet, one might expect the claimed download speeds of 80Mb/s. However, over 80 per cent of the nation's copper network is over 30-years old and copper expires after 30 years - Telstra is currently in the process of ripping it up to make way for NBN fibre. Consequently most people won't get near such speeds (more on this here).

A standalone reason for the NBN is that it replaces the expired 'rotting' copper network. While we might be in one of the driest continents on earth, it can get very wet in our most popular settlements and water ingress is a perpetual problem. This manifests itself as low broadband speeds plus poor quality and unreliable phone calls.

The Coalition has not addressed copper's age and need for refresh with its choice of technology.

Different uses and applications

There's a more-detailed list of the main applications of fibre-based broadband here. In short it will revolutionise healthcare for everyone especially the elderly and those living in remote communities. It will revolutionise all levels of education (more here). It will revolutionise power distribution through the ability to micro-manage peak electricity demand (more here) plus assist in getting power back online quicker in times of emergency and disaster.

As Tasmania is discovering, it opens up a world of monitoring possibilities which can even help farmers.

Fibre also offers revolution to television with every household being able to access the bulk of the developed world's TV channels as well as a plethora of on-demand and other services. Potentially, more importantly, fibre is the only medium capable of broadcasting to the new Ultra High Definition "4K" TVs. These might be new now, but in 10 years' time they'll be common (more on this below).

Fibre also means an end to paying phone line rental and expensive phone calls. It also means ubiquitous crystal-clear, high-definition sound quality on phones which will please people whose technology requirements don't stray far from an old-fashioned telephone.

Telecommuting means many more people won't have to commute to work anymore and nor will they need to live in cities.

Other nascent technologies include 3D printing - an amazing thing which resonates with Star Trek's replicators. It's very real and happening, but should blossom with fibre.

Another potentially-innovative boost could come from Government services. For instance, if people could communicate with CentreLink by talking to their TVs instead of spending time travelling to offices, hardly any offices would be required - everything could be outsourced to a low-cost regional location. There are over 900 offices in Australia.

This isn't even scratching the surface. See here for more.

The Coalition's alternative does away with just about all of this. Those fortunate enough to have the country's very best copper connections should be able to access some of the above services. However, without everyone having access to such speeds, services are significantly less likely to develop. Ultimately, the Coalition has, thus far, said little about the uses of broadband beyond its ability to download web pages and YouTube-like video quicker.

Effect on Australia's health service

We've mentioned the prime benefits to education and power distribution above but it's worth dwelling on healthcare. The 'telehealth' (more here, here, here,here here, here, here, here and here) opportunities afforded by fibre are so dramatic that the savings to the vast $120bn (and rising) annual health budget will pay for the entire rollout on their own, while simultaneously revolutionising healthcare for all Australians, particularly the elderly and those living in rural areas. More on this, here.

In the US, the savings of have been rated at almost $80bn per year.

In New Zealand, it's NZ$5.9bn ($4.8bn) over 20 years. The larger size and GDP of Australia should amplify that figure dramatically.

The prime reasons for this involve the reliability, low latencies, ubiquitous coverage plus the fast download AND upload speeds of fibre. It means people can turn on their TV and talk face-to-face with a doctor.