The National Broadband Network, or NBN, will be a critical asset to overall economic strategy to the average Australian.  It is intended to create up to 37,000 jobs at its peak and a sustainable level of 25,000 during normal operations.  However, this is just the tip of the iceberg.  South Korea recently went from a similar broadband problem to that of Australia to having FTTH (Fibre to the Home) and has seen amazing results in its economy.

Some interesting statistics to consider when assessing the top 30 OECD countries in how Australia ranks:

Australia ranks 16th for broadband adoption

3rd most expensive for fixed line services for SME's

We rank 15th for the fastest Internet speed advertised, yet rank 7th for the most expensive

Japan ranks no. 1 for the fastest Internet speed advertised and ranks 24th for the most expensive

Also, the Internet in its current state, is recognised is being adopted far more quickly than electricity, cars and TV.

One question being placed is the amount of money it will take to deliver FTTH, which is argued by some that $43b is not nearly enough.  This will be a key strategic point the government will need to address for whilst such a great project is needed, spending alot more that the budget will give it a negative feel.

However that being said, the "engine room" of Australia's economy has been a combination of many industries, a few would be tourism, mining and small businesses.  If our small businesses are paying for sub-standard communication services at the 3rd highest rate available amongst 30 other booming countries, what chance do they really have?

Cash flow, sales & staffing are key critical areas for small businesses and the NBN will go some way to addressing these for the positive, one way or another.  How you ask?

What you need to look at is South Korea and the impact it has had on it people.  Did you know:

The no.1 website language in the world is English, 2nd is South Korean

Since the FTTH rollout in South Korea reached a critical mass point, housing prices having risen 12% greater than expected

South Korea is now recognised globally as a highly evolved social society

It was recently reported by Facebook that they have 300 million users, yes 300 million users.  Twitter, a short 140 character based status site again has an every growing user base.  Why?  Nothing has changed for thousands of years, humans still need to feel connected to their community, even more so now with spare time being so hard to find. In the 1950's, people used to attend dances and movies theatres, where young men and women would walk 5km's into town just to socialise, now young men and women lay in bed on Facebook connecting with ALL their friends, instantly.

What is important here is the social changes going on in how we communicate and if the primary connectivity platform is the Internet, which is on the verge of the most signficant upgrade in our time, is only going to encourage this Internet social activity even more.

Some specific points that will be addressed for small businesses are:

Communication costs will lower, placing some ease on cash flow

Businesses that connect to their community via the varying platforms will find new sales and returning business significantly higher in a more evolved Internet society

Employers will need staff who "get" this Internet society and will be encouraged to find ways to retain them

If you want to grab a little more understanding on how the society we live in is changing towards a more community based approached, I would recommend going to the Ted website, the following short video is every second worth watching.

In summary, the NBN will forever change the way we look at communications.  The way we connect via the Internet will become even more so critical and I haven't even mentioned how the NBN will create brand new industries, rivive others and we will see exponential growth in new emerging industries such as content/media businesses.  So the final question I ask is, how is your business positioned to take advantage of the NBN?