Internet breakthrough for bush dwelling Aussies

By Stuart Finlayson

Inhabitants of the Australian outback who have a TV but no telephone may soon be able to surf the Net, thanks to researchers at the Australian National University in Canberra.

Using the VHF spectrum, the university researchers are developing a system that will bring fast and reliable internet services to regional Australia.

The system known as BushLAN (Bush Local Area Network) uses a small antenna connected to a person’s computer to transmit over the VHF network, which is normally used for television channel transmission. Data can be transmitted over the VHF frequency for hundreds of kilometres, and over mountains.

Dr Gerard Borg, who is leading the BushLAN team, commented: "The system is a low frequency communication system that can transmit 115 kilobits a second over a link, so it's roughly ISDN point to point. What's special about it is we're using radio waves so the link does not necessarily have to be line of sight. Also the fact that there is plenty of bandwidth available theoretically – I say theoretically because it is television bandwidth, which is not available to be used as one likes."

The spectrum is there, but whether or not it will be used for this purpose depends on how the Government, or more precisely, the communications authority decides to use it.

"Should the spectrum be allowed to be used for this purpose, we have built a system that demonstrates the feasibility of it," added Borg.

The system is not without is vulnerabilities, with the signal susceptible to dropouts in adverse weather conditions, just as TV viewers in remote areas can experience poor picture quality or no picture at all during such times.

"The advantage is that it is wireless – you don't have to have any infrastructure in place to set it up," said Borg. "This is a quick and easy way to get an Internet connection. Isolated communities are no longer isolated. This has not been done before, anywhere. This is unique research."

It's still to be demonstrated to be of sufficient interest to the community at large for the government to consider it, and until such time as it is, it will not be commercially available, but the demonstration of its potential through the university's research will doubtless help its case with the government.

The system is currently being trialled in the Canberra region, with the research being funded by the Australian Research Council.

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