Australia did have a plan for a 21st century fiber optic broadband network, but the party suggesting that solution lost the election.<p>The election winners won with the help of a promised to build a better network at a quarter of the price, using the existing copper and coaxial systems and just adding in some new fiber optics.<p>Needless to say that promise never delivered and after spending just as much money on that copper/coax mess there is no money left to fix it.<p>The new system is approaching completion and it is already obsolete.<p>So here in Australia we did have a chance to join the 21st century but we just blew it.