NBN 'can be changed

[catsnknots]

I have always questioned the cost benefit of the NBN... I do agree with a nationwide upgrade but think that every aspect needs to be fully and openly addressed. I do not think this has happened... 

the telecommunications industry peak body, the Communications Alliance, has been asked to  initiate the study in an effort to "bring commercial reality to the theoretical debate" on broadband technologies.

"Ever since Labor's $50bn fibre-to-the-premises NBN was announced in April 2009 the Coalition and many others have called for an independent, transparent review of the options for delivering fast broadband to all Australians," he said.

"These calls were motivated by our concern that Labor had chosen the slowest and most expensive way of achieving such an upgrade.

"it was not too late to discuss the future of the NBN and make decisions based on "good data and facts".

"Having an open debate that weighs up the pros and cons of alternatives can only be positive,"

 "it would not be too late to alter the design of the current rollout but added it would result in complications.

"None of this is too late to talk about," 

[catsnknots]

yes Am3... I agree that some people do need it... Business does, Uni's and hospitals do... and some people do... but does everyone? 

If they do need it then shouldn't they pay for it to be connected? 

Also there is a huge problem with getting the NBN connected to apartments and units... they will miss out and there is not a backup to get those people connected..  

[cherry*135]

Helping to connect apartments to the National Broadband Network

12/2/2013

Connecting apartment blocks to the National Broadband Network should be easier now that NBN Co and Strata Community Australia have joined forces to help NBN Co contractors more easily access the buildings.

Before NBN Co and its contractors can start installing fibre into a building they need to liaise with the owners or their representatives to get access to the building.

But this isn't always as straightforward as it sounds.

"Simply making contact with owners corporations can be challenging because there is no publicly available register or listing of office bearers, committee members or authorised representatives such as strata managers," says Strata Community Australia chief executive Mark Lever.

"Also, these positions do turn over regularly and NBN Co needs to be talking to the right people at the right time."

NBN Co and SCA will be collaborating in a six-month pilot to assist in obtaining contact details for owners corporations and bodies corporate of multi-dwelling units to gain the necessary information and approvals to cable the buildings and install NBN equipment.

[cherry*135]

http://www.nbnco.com.au/blog/connecting-apartments-mdus-nbn.html

[catsnknots]

good that they are making inroads to fixing these problems but they should have been addressed as part of the planning..... it has been a problem for several years. 

[cherry*135]

That is the point of test areas isn't it?  To find out what problems they may encounter before they start on the next phase. Our test area here went live in Nov 2011...Tasmania was before that... not really several years.

[catsnknots]

no.. that is the job of a business plan 

anyone that is even remotely clued in would know the trouble that Optus had when trying to get their cables into units.. and those that live in flats often can't get satellite TV.. 

I would have thought it was standard knowledge and would have been addressed in a good business plan. 

[not_an_eloi]

righto, let's see how "business-man" turnbull copes with one or two questions that will be put to 'im tonight, on Q & A.

let's just watch the spin

[cherples]

no.. that is the job of a business plan 

anyone that is even remotely clued in would know the trouble that Optus had when trying to get their cables into units.. and those that live in flats often can't get satellite TV.. 

I would have thought it was standard knowledge and would have been addressed in a good business plan. 

The business plans assumes MDUs will be more difficult and extra time will be required for MDUs. Hence the MDU connections commencing later than ordinary. They are working with the strata title groups to assist with the permissions etc. required..

[monman12]

".....WHY it's so important NOT to

let the Liberals gets their claws on australia's communication system."

The current system is firmly clawed (slashed) by Labour to ensure that there is no competition for the NBN. This is to be  achieved by shutting down a perfectly good Optus HFC, decommissioning Telstra copper network, and banning Telstra HFC from data and voice communications. The Government has paid both of these companies a lot of money not to use their HFC in future for broadband.

Breaking News 22nd Feb:

The first regional Victorians are about to be plugged in to the National Broadband Network

The NBN will be switched on at Bacchus Marsh, west of Melbourne, on Friday.

More than 200 residents will then be able to connect to the fibre-optic broadband network.

Gosh, 200 (able to connect?). I would suggest that there are possibly  far more NBN spruiking Internet links than Bacchus Marsh (able to connect) customers.

[cherples]

http://www.abc.net.au/technology/articles/2013/02/21/3695094.htm

The Coalition's broadband policy slogan states that they will "Complete the current NBN cheaper and faster." This simply isn't true.

We'll continue to cover the sketchy claims of being 'faster' and 'cheaper' in other articles but for now we'll focus on the supposed similarities and differences.

The Coalition's NBN alternative is different by almost every measure. It uses different technologies to connect the bulk of the country; it has different uses and applications; it affects Australia's health service differently; it provides different levels of support in emergencies and natural disasters; it requires a different amount of power to operate; the cost of maintenance is different; the overall cost, the return on investment and the re-sale value are different; the management, ownership, governance, competition and monopoly factors will be different; it has a different life-span and upgradability issues; the effect on businesses (of all sizes) and GDP is different; the effects on television are different; the effect on Senior Citizens is different; the viability and potential for cost blowouts is different; the costs of buying broadband will be different; the reliability is different; the effect on property prices will be different; the timescale is different; the legacy is different. Ultimately, it has completely different aims.

In just about every case the Coalition's alternative compares unfavourably to the current plans - and usually in dramatic fashion. That's based upon the facts and the information currently available in the public domain.

There are few similarities: it appears that the Coalition's plans for Fixed Wireless technology and Satellite technology in rural areas may be similar (there's an near-total lack of detail in the Coalition's plans and much information is gathered through 'reading between the lines') but there are big questions regarding the differences in funding. Ultimately, the only obvious similarity is that people should be able to download web pages and videos a bit faster.

Here follows each facet listed in detail. In the spirit of crowdsourcing, and with the phenomenal success of it in terms of NBN research, if you can add any more information one way or the other, please contact us or leave the details in the comments.

That is the intro to a very long, very well researched article if anyone is interested in the truth about the NBN.