Abstract
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Until the start of this year, any attempt to communicate via the internet in our house
in a regional area by the sea was fraught with frustration. Partly because of our choice
of internet service provider, but largely because of geography, our home wireless signal
frequently dropped out, requiring one of us to restart the modem every hour or so. At
this point, we (ill-advisedly) pinned our hopes on the rollout of the National Broadband
Network. A quick visit to the NBN Co Roll Out Map (which is helpfully online, begging
the question what happens if you can’t get online in the first place) suggested we drag
a curiously shaped red blob over our current address to find out where we might be in
relation to the NBN. We were then helpfully advised that: ‘The NBN rollout has not
started in your area. Keep checking the website for updates and more information.’ We
are, inconveniently, only 3 kilometres north of where the rollout has stopped. Given the
recent change of government and a revised communication agenda, that rollout may
never embark on its Sisyphean journey up our hill. Therefore, having just gone through
the unbelievable rigmarole of switching service providers in order to obtain a slightly
more reliable signal, we could not help but conclude that it might actually be cheaper
and more convenient to move.