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Yes the figures look rather sorry. New Zealand ranks very poorly when its broadband uptake and the price/performance of such services are compared to its trading partners in the OECD group.

We're also told that we're in big trouble because our R&D spend is just one third that of our peers and our export growth also lags way behind those we see as our equals.

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It doesn't take long for some people to put two and two together -- but I think they may have come up with the wrong answer.

Is our lacklustre broadband uptake really the problem that industry and politicians make it out to be?

Maybe not. Perhaps it's simply a convenient excuse that can be used to explain away the real problems that are seeing this country's performance lingering barely above second-world levels.

Does it really matter whether Mr and Mrs Smith have a 3.5Mbps DSL connection rather than a 128Kbps one -- or (gasp!) even dial-up?

Let's face it, the *average* Net user spends most of their time just sending and receiving emails or doing some very lightweight web browsing. These kind of activities do not require high speeds or big data-caps.

Even your average business user treats the Net as a convenient messaging medium that is cheaper and often more convenient than fax or phone. Once again, the average SME doesn't need much more than 256Kbps to cope with their email traffic and there are very few businesses that rely on workers doing a whole lot of web-surfing.

VPNs may require a bit more bandwidth but this use of the Net probably represents a rather small percentage of the total user numbers.

So are we just bitching about our DSL services because we can? Are we using Telecom's prices and service levels as an excuse for our laziness or lack of smarts in other areas?

Would giving everyone an uncapped 10Mbps DSL connection really improve the nation's competitiveness or productivity?

I very much doubt it. Perhaps the only real improvements would come from the fact that employees who covertly surf the Net for personal reasons during work-time might be able to do so more quickly and then get back to their job -- but I doubt it.

What we really need to lift NZ into true first-world status is more clever thinking, harder work, a greater commitment to funding R&D, better government policies and a preparedness to stop blaming everyone else for our own problems.

What do *you* use the Net for and how does this benefit our economy -- either locally or internationally? Would upgrading your personal or business connection to "faster/cheaper" mean the country would be better off as a result and if so, how?

Tell us all and see what others have to say in The Aardvark Forums

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