I am one of the 190,000+ people who have signed the Change.org petition to ask the Coalition to revise their position on a fibre-to-the-node National Broadband Network.
This historic petition is the largest online petition in Australian history and has gathered all of these signatures in under four days.
Despite the large win for the Coalition in the September 7th election, one thing is clear: the Australian people want the NBN to stay as a majority fibre-to-the-premises network.
There has already been significant discussion about the pros and cons of both a fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) and fibre-to-the-node (FTTN).
The Coalition back FTTN as a cheaper solution to Australia's broadband needs but hundreds of thousands of people are telling them no, FTTP or bust.
Missing out on a FTTP-based NBN would be a huge problem for many Australians, not just the people like myself who work extensively with the Internet on a day-to-day basis.
People from all walks of life saw a FTTP-based NBN as the revolution they had been waiting for. That's why as Kevin Rudd delivered his concession speech on Saturday night, I was already putting together the pieces for weneedthenbn.com. It's one of the many sites that have sprang up to draw attention to the issue.
From that first night, I have received over 2,000 visitors every day, each concerned about what the future holds for the NBN in Australia.
Activists have emerged to start up community groups, petitions and spread the word. In only a few days, we’ve seen several massive pushes spring up entirely independently of each other, showing that this is an issue that people are truly passionate about.
To be clear, there has been no prior planning here. There's no collusion or secret agenda. We’re organising quickly and reaching out to each other. We are connecting together, not because of explicit organisation, but because we all see the need.
We see FTTP as the technology that will carry Australia through not just the next 10 years like FTTN but the 40 years after that.
I have received stories from people all over Australia about how the existing copper network is already letting them down. People calling out for reliable NBN infrastructure that will allow them to contribute to the workforce again; that will allow them to connect with their families; that will allow them to start businesses; that will allow them to receive medical attention that is currently unavailable.
There has been no particular drive for attention yet. This has all happened because this is an issue that many people genuinely care about. The NBN is not just a political issue. We have supporters from all the major parties: Liberal, National along with Labor and the Greens.
I have been amazed at the broad, non-partisan support that we have all received, and I’m excited that the people of Australia are standing up to defend the upgrade that we need to strengthen our country’s future.
Samuel Levy is an independent web developer, blogger and founder of weneedthenbn.com. He is not affiliated with any political parties.
