NBN Rollout Scrapped

[Knobby22]

OK, make it other alternatives if you like. However any private enterprise broadband system would be more taxpayer-friendly.

Hasn't worked with electricity. They stop maintenance and start working out ways to rort us. At least that is what has happened in Victoria.

 

[Calliope]

The Australian isn't exactly known for their accurate NBN reporting.

Naturally you would think like Conroy who wants to censor it because it is too accurate.

 

[NBNMyths]

Naturally you would think like Conroy who wants to censor it because it is too accurate.

Well, let's see.

The Australian says "entry level prices start at $60".

According to the actual ISPs though, entry level pricing starts at $35.00 (or even less).

So either The Australian is wrong, or the ISP is lying to its customers.



The Australian says that it will cost a school "up to $200,000 to connect to the NBN".

Oops, then they print a teeny-tiny correction, saying that the school's connection will actually be free:

I notice they haven't removed the original false story though....


It goes on and on with a whole list of demonstrably false stories documented by ZDNet:
http://www.zdnet.com.au/advance-australian-fair-339306784.htm

 

[tinhat]

Funny thing is, it depends which side of the fence you are on.
One side call him a visionary, the other side call him a blackmailer and extortionist.

As a TLS shareholder I call him a visionary! Thanks for the $$$.

 

[Calliope]

Good work Myths. You should ask Conroy for a raise and maybe a position with the Australian Communications and Media Authority, Accuracy Police.

I know Gillard and Conroy hate porkies

 

[sptrawler]

As a TLS shareholder I call him a visionary! Thanks for the $$$.

Yes, they are finally above their first listing price 15 years ago. Thanks heaps.LOL,LOL

Also you will be able to buy back what they just took off you, when they resell you the wholesale network(N.B.N)LOL,
Yes thanks heaps.

 

[Logique]

NBN Myths,

in this rural district (not so far from Wollongong) we asked the NBN co when it will arrive, answer - not in the near term future. Also with optical fibre, my arithmetic tells me that 93% doesn't equal 100%.

Entry level phone plus broadband for $35, outside of metropolitan areas, surely you jest.

 

[NBNMyths]

NBN Myths,

in this rural district (not so far from Wollongong) we asked the NBN co when it will arrive, answer - not in the near term future. Also with optical fibre, my arithmetic tells me that 93% doesn't equal 100%.

Entry level phone plus broadband for $35, outside of metropolitan areas, surely you jest.

They have only announced the next 3 years of fibre, so outside that they won't tell you when it will arrive. The fixed wireless rollout has not really been announced, except for a few areas, but it will be finished by 2015. The interim sat is available now, and the final sat will be in 2015.

The NBN has never been promised to deliver fibre to 100%. It has always been a combination of fibre, wireless and satellite. Originally it was "90% fibre, 10% wireless or sat". After the KPMG implementation study, it was increased to 93% fibre, and specified as 4% wireless, 3% sat. Add it together and it's 100% coverage.


No, I don't jest. NBN pricing is identical nationwide. Exetel charge $35 for a phone and 12Mbps broadband bundle on the NBN (fibre or wireless). That's ~30% less than phone+ADSL. See for yourself: http://www.exetel.com.au/residential-fibre-pricing-mainland.php

So much for "bush folk not being able to afford it" huh?

 

[Smurf1976]

Hasn't worked with electricity. They stop maintenance and start working out ways to rort us. At least that is what has happened in Victoria.

You'd be hard pressed to find anywhere this hasn't happened when utilities have been privatised.

Construction of the NBN is effectively a taxpayer funded bailout of the nation's communications infrastructure after years of being run down by Telstra. It is politically convenient that it happens to be associated with the introduction of new technology, but we'd still be paying for this even if it was simply to replace the copper lines with new copper lines. That's not because they suddenly wore out, it's because the system has simply been neglected for years and would need massive investment to continue operating.

I have serious reservations regarding the NBN, but there are some things private enterprise doesn't cope well with and infrastructure like this is one of them. That said, if it is to be publicly owned then it should be a proper Commission as such with strictly limited ministerial control. Such things worked well in the past, although it was generally the Left side of politics which didn't like them so much (interesting...).

PS One thing that nobody seems to mention - what happens to all the toxics in the old network? There's plenty of it...

 

[Julia]

Under the NBN there is no line rental charge. So the $35 plan from Exetel (which I mentioned above) is all you pay for phone and broadband combined. Also, the phone calls on that $35 plan are 10c each, un-timed to any fixed line in Australia. This is less than half the cost of a local call on the copper network, let alone STD calls.

OK, I hope you're right. Thank you for the response.

Yes, but that is how we work in Australia. The country gets a good deal and I think that is good. They already suffer in heathcare and petrol (though they are subsidised in both). I can't see what is wrong with that.

So if I decide I'm fed up with suburbia and decide to build my house thousands of kms from anywhere, I should have every right to expect the same services as I obtained in suburbia?
You must be joking!

 

[sptrawler]

No, I don't jest. NBN pricing is identical nationwide. Exetel charge $35 for a phone and 12Mbps broadband bundle on the NBN (fibre or wireless). That's ~30% less than phone+ADSL. See for yourself: http://www.exetel.com.au/residential-fibre-pricing-mainland.php

Thanks for that N.B.N, an old bloke at the gym who has fixed line phone and mobile broadband and was asking my opinion of his options.
If this info is correct it would be perfect for him, I will let you know next week, how it goes.

 

[drsmith]

OK, I hope you're right. Thank you for the response.

He's right, but has compared apples with oranges.

There's no line rental for VOIP over copper either.

 

[Calliope]

I have serious reservations regarding the NBN, but there are some things private enterprise doesn't cope well with and infrastructure like this is one of them.

As long as it is not called a Labour Government Enterprise. That is an oxymoron, and the kiss of death for any project. It is just a licence to waste money.

 

[NBNMyths]

He's right, but has compared apples with oranges.

There's no line rental for VOIP over copper either.

That's true. But Telstra don't offer unbundled services on their network and only about 10% of exchanges have 3rd-party ADSL2+ which do allow unbundled DSL.

Even in that 10%, you can't get $20 ADSL. The cheapest I've seen is DoDo (who are in about 300 of the 5,000 exchanges nationwide) at $27.95 for 5GB (!!!) of data, $37.95 for 10GB and $47.95 for 100GB. None of which include a VoIP number, although there are some free services available with limitations.

Still doesn't compare to Exetel's 50GB w/VoIP and 10c calls on the NBN, and access to the same 'free' VoIP services as naked DSL.

 

[IFocus]

Still doesn't compare to Exetel's 50GB w/VoIP and 10c calls on the NBN, and access to the same 'free' VoIP services as naked DSL.

I pay around $85 per month for 1.5k / 20GB / line rental and use VoIP its the best deal I can get not even close to the proposed NBN costs.

The continued cost claims from some sections of the media is... well ...just disgracefull then of course the same people sling mud at the ABC.

Fortunately I am in the 1st year connection area............bring it on.

Thanks for the updates NBNMyths

 

[Smurf1976]

As long as it is not called a Labour Government Enterprise. That is an oxymoron, and the kiss of death for any project. It is just a licence to waste money.

Agreed. I'd prefer an old-style Commission largely beyond the day to day reach of politics. I can't see it happening in today's political climate however (regardless of whoever wins the next election).

 

[sptrawler]

Agreed. I'd prefer an old-style Commission largely beyond the day to day reach of politics. I can't see it happening in today's political climate however (regardless of whoever wins the next election).

No, it will be off loaded to the mum's and dad's as soon as practicable, at the maximum price obtainable. Then the taxpayer will pick up the shortfall. If a publicly listed company behaved like this, all hell would break loose.IMO

 

[drsmith]

That's true. But Telstra don't offer unbundled services on their network and only about 10% of exchanges have 3rd-party ADSL2+ which do allow unbundled DSL.

How does that translate to percentage of households ?

I for example am on Iinet's ADSL2+ Naked-home 1 which provides 100GB monthly data (speed ~14/1 mbps at approx 1km from exchange) and free local and national calls through VOIP for ~$70.

Iinet don't have a precise equivalent for NBN, but the nearest two are 12/1 mpbs/20GB+20GB (peak and offpeak) for ~$50 and 12/1 mpbs/100GB+100GB for ~$60. Equivalent VOIP phone service is ~$10 extra.

With Iinet, the NBN service is cheaper, but only marginally. With Iinet, I could save $10 per month and take a hit on quota or pay what I pay now and potentially get some advantage on quota from the off peak limit. On the figures above, the nett advantage of the NBN is effectively between $0 and $10 per month, depending on quota usage.

The NBN plans needs to be cheaper at ADSL levels otherwise no one would use it, but that does not take into account the cost to the taxpayer of building the network. Whether or not that cost is recoverable in full in the ultimate business value of the NBN remains to be seen and will depend very much on the government's ability to judge and manage its large scale investment projects.

 

[drsmith]

I pay around $85 per month for 1.5k / 20GB / line rental and use VoIP its the best deal I can get not even close to the proposed NBN costs.

The continued cost claims from some sections of the media is... well ...just disgracefull then of course the same people sling mud at the ABC.

Fortunately I am in the 1st year connection area............bring it on.

Thanks for the updates NBNMyths

A question that comes to mind here is the impact the NBN has had on the rollout of ADSL2+ enabling of Telstra's exchanges by the ISP's themselves ?

For example, Iinet's DSLAM rollout has largely ground to a halt in most states, although SA is a notable exception.

http://www.iinet.net.au/iinetwork/coverage.html

 

[drsmith]

A question for the floor.

Did Iinet late last year have a low usage (10 or 20GB) naked DSL plan (ADSL2+) with VOIP included for ~$50 ?

I can recall considering a cheaper, lower usage Iinet naked DSL plan at the time. Now, the one I'm on is their cheapest.

Can someone confirm ?