An Australian historian proposed that the key to understanding Australia was "the tyranny of distance". Australians were far removed from their British ancestors, far from the centres of power in Europe and North America and far from each other-with the major cities seperated by distances of some 800 km. Time, however, has broken down that sense of distance. Australians today do not see London or New York as the centre of the world. The proximity to Asian economies like China is an economic strength. Transportation and communications links have taken away the sense of remoteness felt by past generations. However, the technology that truly promises to end the tyranny of distance is high-speed broadband, whose benefits we are still only beginning to understand though it has already been decade since the frenzied dotcom era. That is why the Australian government is rolling out the world's most ambitious broadband project-a national network that will bring fibre to homes in more than 1000 cities and towns covering 93% of residences. Next generation wireless and satellite technologies will cover the other 7%. The network will operate at lightning speeds and involve an estimated investment of $40 billion through an independent state-owned enterprise in partnership with the private sector.