Why even a fast NBN may not be enough The benefits of ultra-fast broadband will really become clear when the bedroom lamp makes a telephone call and the dishwasher emails the water board, a prominent futurologist says. It may seem like science fiction but technology experts all point to a not-so-distant future where our entire lives are wired - our cars, our homes, even our spectacles will be connected to the internet and communicate with each other. Just a fortnight ago, Telstra's chief technology officer Dr Hugh Bradlow predicted fridges in 2020 will know when they're empty and order groceries online. "This will be a world where each device in the home, car and environment talks to each other," Dr Bradlow said. And that means Australia will need super-duper, ultra-fast internet to make it all work, according to US-born author, engineer and futurist Mark Pesce. "The average Australian household probably now has four or five devices that are connected to the internet," he told AAP. But in 10 years it's probably going to be 100 or 200 devices that are connected. And they're all trying to get over the pipe, whether it's your car talking to the dealership or your lamp talking to the electricity company or your dishwasher talking to Sydney Water. So it really becomes an issue of latency, not just bandwidth. Ultimately, even Labor's planned $44 billion national broadband network (NBN) with speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) probably wouldn't be enough to cope in the long-term future and will need upgrading, Mr Pesce said. And the coalition's plans for a $29.5 billion NBN with speeds of 25 Mbps certainly won't be enough, he added. Criticism of the coalition's NBN plans continued on social media sites on Wednesday, with actor Russell Crowe joining a chorus of disapproval on Twitter. Coalition NBN plan, half the cost to be 1/4 (one quarter) as efficient? Obviously somebody needs to explain to them the point of the NBN," he posted online. But coalition MPs have been vigorously defending the plans, which were unveiled on Tuesday. Opposition communication spokesman Malcolm Turnbull told Fairfax Radio on Wednesday: "In our network, what we will do is build in capacity with the option of upgrading as and when demand arises."