Back to Unit 2: The Best is Yet to Be or Not to Be

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2.1 Australia’s Network: The NBN Saga

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Australia’s journey toward high-speed internet has been anything but smooth. The National Broadband Network (NBN), one of the country’s largest infrastructure projects, aimed to connect the nation to faster internet. It began in the early 2000s and has taken over two decades to reach the point where it is considered “built.” But even now, things aren’t perfect.

Although the majority of Australians have access to the NBN, around 100,000 premises are still not able to connect. Another 230,000 can't even get what’s considered a basic broadband speed — 25 megabits per second. These numbers exist partly because new houses and buildings are constantly being constructed, which means that some level of "unconnected" will always exist, even if the network itself is considered complete.

In this unit

20 lessons

  1. 2.1Australia’s Network: The NBN SagaThis lesson
  2. 2.2Canada’s High Speed Rail: Why It Has Not HappenedPreview lesson
  3. 2.3The Fall of MegaprojectsPreview lesson
  4. 2.4Perceptions of Megaprojects: The Suramadu Bridge Case StudyPreview lesson
  5. 2.5Megaprojects: Ambition Achievement and AdversityPreview lesson
  6. 2.6Loneliness as a Global Health Threat: A New Public Health CrisisPreview lesson
  7. 2.7Loneliness Around the World: A Global PerspectivePreview lesson
  8. 2.8Japan’s Cure for Loneliness: Between Robots and Human ConnectionPreview lesson
  9. 2.9Japan’s Experiments in Elder Care: Technology Crisis and Human CostPreview lesson
  10. 2.10Living Conditions in Decline: A Global SnapshotPreview lesson
  11. 2.11Declining Birthrates and the Meta Crisis: A New NormalPreview lesson
  12. 2.12Are Demographic Changes IrreversiblePreview lesson
  13. 2.13Podcasters Became Our FriendsPreview lesson
  14. 2.14Parasocial Relationships in a Digital WorldPreview lesson
  15. 2.15Understanding Social Media Algorithms and Their ImpactPreview lesson
  16. 2.16Adults and the Hidden Impacts of Social MediaPreview lesson
  17. 2.17When Algorithms Promote Harm: The Problem of Platform ResponsibilityPreview lesson
  18. 2.18The Mental Health Costs of Media OverloadPreview lesson
  19. 2.19How the News Shapes Our Minds and Our HealthPreview lesson
  20. 2.20Traumatic Media Overload: When News Hurts More Than It HelpsPreview lesson

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