"It won't help anyone. Anyone can get a VPN and the people the filter targets like pedophiles will certainly try to get around it," said one software engineer for a vendor showcasing at CeBIT.

Darryl, a compliance auditor at financial institution, said he believes the government has ulterior motives for filtering the Internet.

"[The government] knows it won't work, as you've undoubtedly heard from interviewing people in the [technology] industry, but it keeps charging ahead. Maybe it will be popular with mums and dads, I'm not sure [but] they might have another reason that they aren't telling us. Why else would [the Federal Communications Minister] push something so publicly unpopular?" he said, adding that function-creep is a "real risk"

Opinion is mixed on the benefits of tipping billions into the NBN. The government and NBN Co say the fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network will provide jobs, new business opportunities, improvements to essential services and of course, consumer entertainment.

Most delegates agreed, but some were caught on the prodigious expenditure with what was considered a risky return on investment model. "What if uptake is small? Who can say that everyone will pay for [100Mbps] Internet [access] - I would, but I'm a nerd," said one IT network engineer.