[nzlug] TVNZ 7 Internet Debate

[Vik Olliver]

Neil, Mark and I went along to Avalon Studios to watch and drink free
beer. I took notes. Didn't get to ask questions - they were all
organised well in advance. Interesting to watch the 3 guys cluster up
one end of the bench, leaving the woman from the Greens stuck at the far
end. They didn't give her a fair suck of the sav, but as she sadly
didn't seem to understand many terms like "peering" and "IPv6".

Much was said about driving corporate investment, not much recognition
given to the person on the far end of the fibre. They were just assumed
to consume, consume, consume, make video calls and upload the occasional
pirated movie. The concept of user-generated content was only touched
upon in the context of censorship. Apparently 92% of web traffic is
foreign. Of course, the remaining 8% is very important to us and is what
we need to concentrate on.

There was a general recognition that provision of connectivity was an
essential service like the provision of electricity or water, and that
it required some regulation as each home would only have one incoming
line. More on that later.

Hosts:
Damian Christie, Fran O'Sullivan Russ Brown.

Dramatis Personae:
Hon. David Cunliffe, Labour's Minister of Communications.
Hon. Maurice Williamson, National ICT Spokesperson.
Rodney Hide, ACT Leader.
Metiria Turei, Greens ICT Spokesperson.

Cunliffe

Seemed to concentrate on regulation & investment. Believes that another
undersea cable will cause international data costs to drop and is
stumping up $50m for a new one. Wants to lay fibre with 80% coverage.
Revealed that the government has been in ACTA talk since May, but says
it is apparently normal not to be able to discuss things publicly
(though presumably OK to discuss them with large American corporates).
Believes that peering is improving.

Williamson

Wants to push NZ into the information economy. Content is king -
corporate content, that is. Proudly waved iPhone and declared he'd
copied his music onto it, his home PC, and his laptop. Doesn't believe
that control of digital content is tenable. Aims for 75% coverage with
fibre, and agrees with Cunliffe that some control and guidance is needed
to make sure fibre gets laid without digging up the road 7 times.
Understands what telepresence is.

Hide

Wants less red tape, but is dead keen on applying property rights to
software and digital content. Proponent of wireless data through
Vodafone and WiMAX, though silent on municipal WiFi. Believes all things
will be solved by competition. Understands that a mix of wireless and
wired data is needed.

Turei

She got cut out of the debate by the guys a lot, which was sad. Views
the Internet as wealth needing to be shared. Wants free and Open
networks as well as software. Wants local Internet distribution points -
sounded a lot like more local peering. Keen on rural access, disabled
access and community wireless. Distinctly unhappy at lack of information
coming out of the ACTA.


All mentioned "IP" like it existed and none realised that P2P could be
used for anything other than sharing illicit files. Fortunately all
agreed that the Australian Internet controls sucked.

Well, that's what I took away folks. Pick the lesser of your evils. If
we're going to get IT Utopia, it's not coming from this bunch!

Vik :v)