I really enjoyed the event and the format of it. It was a bit of a shame not having any traditional media covering the event though.

It was also great to see presenters who have so much experience and knowledge on web applications and technologies sharing their thoughts, ideas, experiences and opinions on this topic.

I am sure their contribution will be taken in consideration and I’m looking forward to the next public sphere.

The original trend in digital media was as much as possible in as small space as possible, but in recent years the emphasis has changed towards quality. It is something like DVD versus Blu-Ray. That is the reason for fairly high upper estimates. Lower estimates are older. Two audio examples are (a) music: CNET Music Center – http://www.cnet.com/1990-7899_1-6396943-1.html and (b) radio: BBC DAB radio – http://www.digitalradiotech.co.uk/dab/bbc_dab.htm. These are the lower end bitrates. Coding techniques are improved, but we are already close to theoretical limits and it is tradeoff between quality or capacity.

The users want predictable prices and reliability for their Internet connections. For cloud computing and many other service types and applications reliability must be much higher than today. Three-dimensional (3D) video is coming. It does need only about 1.5 times the bit rate, ie. capacity compared to 2D video. Technically, many of current computer displays are able to display image-sequential video. Some sort of glasses are still needed for 3D effect, but engineers are working on low-cost no-glasses displays.

Various forms of telepresence is my bet for main growth applications. An example of simple application could be 3D telemeeting, more complex will be manipulation applications. Multiplayer games are the forerunners in this area.

These estimates seem to be uninteresting details, but the devil is in the details in technical systems. Wrong choices when specifying and designing an infrastructure are difficult to correct later, like the different railway gauges in different states of Australia.

There many others issues to look at relating to telecommunication. Many intellectual property issues need serious rethinking, discussion and review. Also censorship and controlled recipients need attention.

“Barriers and Challenges” leads on from Roger Clarke’s final question/observation.
http://stevej-on-it.blogspot.com/2009/05/aus-high-speed-broadband-barriers-and.html

and there’s a series of comments on the NBN in general at:
http://stevej-on-it.blogspot.com/2009/04/high-speed-broadband-excess-costs-and.html

Broadcast media such as Q and A prove week after week that robust debate is alive and well in Australia, as do shows such as Insight on SBS.

The online communities the ABC hosts as well as others such as Lavartus Prodeo and a number of less well-known communities of special interest host active debate from all points on the political compass.

ABC’s Unleashed (to which I am a contributor) is a great examples of a place where opinion so diverse it’s mind-boggling all gets a run in a virtual Speaker’s Corner.

Don’t forget, too, the richness of the blogosphere where debate rages from the extreme fringes to very mainstream. Too often it’s dismissed as a place for odd misfits to obsess about their cats. No so.

I’d certainly relish the opportunity to talk with you at length about my ideas. They’re certainly not pie-in-the-sky, but significantly informed by what’s happening in the US, UK, Canada and NZ, as well as places like Brasil. I’m in touch with many of the senior players in those places as well as here and we very actively share the stories of our battles – won and lost.

I know you and your staff are open to all of these ideas and are keen to disseminate them amongst your colleagues, so any first steps we might take would be very valuable.

You know where to find me.