|
The maximum signal rate (speed) with fiber is vastly greater than it is with copper. For those who say "But new technique X means copper can do a bit more now", something equivalent will always be available for fiber too - copper is never catching up. The maximum speed you can get with copper also degrades very quickly as the length of the wire grows longer. You might be happy with your current speed, many other individuals and businesses are not.
However, to cut to the core of your question "why the powers that be are trying to make it mandatory to have a fibre link to my house"? - it is because the Telstra privatization was completely ballsed up. The infrastructure should never have been included as a part of a single private company but separating the infrastructure out of Telstra pre-float would have yielded less dollars for the government of the day. By forcing the installation of fiber the government can upgrade everybody's connection (a carrot), throw enough money at Telstra to make it voluntarily separate (a bribe) and at great cost over come the worst of the problems caused by the privatization (one entrenched monopoly controlling almost all of the retail and wholesale market for fixed lines).
I make no comment as to whether I think it will be worth the cost or whether any specific NBN plans make sense to me. I'm simply giving you my best answer as to why fiber and why it is being made mandatory.
|