NBN

I'm out of my depth with the technicalities of 'fibre to the node', etc, but my reading of this article suggests that if you want NBN with the Coalition, it will cost you about $2000 to $3000 to be connected.

Am I reading that wrong?

Any tech experts out there?


But over the past four years, since each side of politics locked into its respective position - that is, fibre to the premises (FTTP) for the Government and fibre to the node (FTTN) for the Opposition - technology has continued to develop rapidly.

Specifically, WiFi is getting to the point where it could be used for the last bit of the network that connects households and businesses to the fibre. This is what should be the focus of an "open and transparent debate".

As I understand it, the core difference between the current NBN rollout and the Opposition's alternative is that whereas the Government's $37 billion (or so) plan is to connect all homes and businesses to fibre, Malcolm Turnbull wants to extend fibre to neighbourhood "nodes" only.

From there the NBN would use either existing copper, or if the customer wants it, fibre - but at the customer's expense. Neither of those methods would be free: Telstra would have to be paid, although possibly less than they are being paid now by the NBN, and a fibre connection from the node would cost somewhere between $2,000 and $3,000 a pop.

In other words the essential difference between the two plans is that under the existing ALP plan, a household would have to opt out of the NBN to stay with copper, whereas with the Coalition, last-mile fibre is "opt in".

If everyone did that the cost of Turnbull's NBN would be about as much as Conroy's, except the Government wouldn't be paying about half the bill - individual households would. What the cost of using Telstra's copper would be is up for negotiation.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-27/kohler-quigley-nbn-options/4542086

I think most people don't understand it and therefore it won't affect how anyone votes.

Would converting to copper from the nodule decrease the speed dramatic ie lose all benefits of fibre network?

It does seem excessive to connect every premise with fibre - some may not even need/want it?

The people who will benefit most out of a FTTP connection would be business and I would think that $2000/$3000 for the connection is not prohibitive for increased productivity.

You would think FTTN would save a lot of money over FTTP to be spent on higher priorities - eg health, education

Fibre is not really more expensive to lay than copper ... nobody in their right mind would continue to lay more copper from the node to the home these days, but they still do because DSL technology is primarily based on copper networks.

Fibre is by far superior to cable and you would not even get close to 100mbps on any decent length of copper.

The NBN is a very worhwhile project and what most people forget to realise is that its not just a $30+ Billion expense for the government with no return, but a real asset that will return far more in the long run.

Look how much money Telstra have squeezed out of their ageing copper network. It sustained their business for decades and only relatively recently has that part of their business been in decline.

It would be a very sad outcome if the opposition were to enact their plan if (when) they form government.

In terms of R&Bs original question, whether one has to relay copper or new fibre from the node to the home, the expense would be similar. I doubt whether there would be a tangible option for a consumer to ask and pay for a fibre run from the node to their home. This would most likely be a commercial option (which is currently the case) and the costs wouldn't be cheap. In reality, copper would still be utilised for the last run to the home in the opposition's plan and I wouldn't expect that there would be a large upfront cost for the service as is suggested by that article. FTTN (Fibre to the Node) is already here anyway, so the opposition's plan is to continue what currently occurs so it's not a plan at all.

Reading an article in the AFR today, Turnbull states that the coalition would commit to laying down fibre to the street boxes only and then the copper would remain to the house/business. If you wanted fibre all the way up to your house, then you pay for it.

We have the NBN fibre to our house here and it's awesome. I think if more people were to get tech savvy it would be a very worthwhile investment.

Was this every going to be run properly? Another blow out on the cards by the looks.

http://www.afr.com/p/technology/senator_demands_straight_answers_ebJRgrwdrn0fimQz9wfDAK

Coalition senator Simon Birmingham has demanded “straight answers” from NBN Co chief executive Mike Quigley on whether he misled Parliament after internal documents showed the company was aware it would miss key roll-out targets.

On February 12 Mr Quigley told a Senate committee the roll-out was on track to reach its long-promised goal of installing fibre optic cable into 286,000 homes by June 30 – a claim he repeated during an American Chamber of Commerce event in Sydney on February 22.

Confidential internal documents show that by February 25 the company was aware it would only reach 120,584 premises and had begun preparing contingency plans.

[i]iiNet calls for thorough evaluation of Coalition's broadband policy vs Labor's

Lexi Metherell reported this story on Friday, April 5, 2013 08:23:00

Listen to MP3 of this story ( minutes)
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TONY EASTLEY: As the Coalition prepares to unveil its broadband policy, a key telecommunications company is calling for a thorough evaluation of both major parties' proposals.

iiNet says it's confident a full analysis would show that Labor's National Broadband Network plan is superior.

http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2013/s3730250.htm

Oh dear.

The LNP Broadband Policy has just been announced. Like building the Southern Expressway only one way to start.

Fast speed to the end of the street, copper slower speed to the home.

If you've got $5,000, you can have fibre to the home.

Are they really serious???????

Yes we are. But this is one policy I disagree with.

Interesting that the launch was held in the Foxtel studio (Murdoch) and instead of a press release on the cost of Labor's NBN, they just gave out the front page story in the Daily Telegraph (Murdoch).

Rupert doesn't want the NBN, it would really hurt his media empire.

A Ferrari for 9 laps, a gopher for the last lap.

If you're rich, you can buy a Ferrari.

What a joke of a policy, seriously

Living out in the sticks, I can fully understand how it would assist rural communities. I'm lucky to have the NBN where I am now, and it means that I can still communicate face to face with some of my family and others like my medical specialists based in Adelaide and Melbourne, in a much better way that the copper network could provide.

What happens to those who already have got fibre direct to their house??

I don't see the issue - will provide a similar service at less cost and as the scope of works has been reduced significantly the risk of project overruns and cost blows is also decreased significantly.

What is the use of connecting every residence in Australia with fibre network when not everyone has the requirement for it and copper will do the job. Great alternative by the LNP and they will rescue the NBN from being a white elephant of the biggest order.

HTWWW, what has been your experience and thoughts of the NBN?

In short, the NBN is really only going to work to its potential if everyone is connected to it. I Skype people on a regular basis, I'm doing my Law degree online, so I really enjoy the quick download speeds (especially if I'm downloading a lecture onto iTunes etc). The cost is not much more than what I was paying for DSL connection back on the mainland. I can understand why the Labor govt wants to roll it out for everyone and IMO it is a terrific upgrade to an outdated infrastructure that the Coalition seems hellbent on keeping, just to save a couple of dollars. The next few generations of society coming through are going to be ever reliant on the internet and associated IT. For once, I'm glad that Labor is thinking about the future, not just the Baby Boomers. As I said before, I'm a National Party member, but I cannot fathom why my party would agree to the Liberal policy here on this issue, especially when the NBN could provide HUGE benefits to rural and remote communities.

What download speed do you achieve now HTWWW?

We're paying for up to 25Mbps. You are not guaranteed to achieve that speed consistently but I feel it's a lot quicker than what I was used to previously.

It's likely to be more costly for country people under the LNP plan, too.

If you wanted 100mps, what extra would it cost you, HTWWW? I didn't know that there were differential costs for different speeds?

We're paying $64.95 a month for 200GB at 25Mbps. ($59.95 per month + $5 per month to get next level of speed).

The lowest speed is 12Mbps and that's your base speed (that's on a fibre connection - 6Mbps is the only speed if you're connected via satellite).

It costs an extra $20 a month to upgrade to 100Mbps on top of what your paying for your data package.

You can upgrade from 12Mbps to 25, 50 and 100Mbps.

Thanks, that's helpful.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/business/nbn-costs-could-top-90-billion-report/story-fn7ki14e-1226614710571


COMMUNICATIONS Minister Stephen Conroy has admitted making a false claim about the National Broadband Network as he tried to defend the project over allegations it faces massive cost blowouts.

Senator Conroy told ABC Radio this morning that the Coalition was a "fact-free zone" but wrongly claimed the NBN's corporate plan was audited by the Auditor-General as he attempted to justify its price tag.

The Coalition estimates the final price tag of the NBN could more than double to $90 billion-plus, and that it will take an extra four years to complete.

Another quality piece from the Daily Telegraph...

Although, I do wonder how much it has cost to rollout what they have so far. That might help give a better indication of what the final cost will be.

howthewestwaswon wrote:Another quality piece from the Daily Telegraph...

Although, I do wonder how much it has cost to rollout what they have so far. That might help give a better indication of what the final cost will be.

The cost thus far would be interesting, but I believe the fact they are already 3 months behind and they have cherry picked the areas to connect will be a bigger cost implication for the roll out. Anyone who knows anything regarding these major work projects would know once you have lost time you will never make it up and if they keep losing time at the same rate from now until 2021 we may be looking an unthinkable cost blow out.

Fair point BC.

Instead of giving out a press release when launching the NBN, the LNP gave out the Daily Telegraph.

Enough said.