﻿ Coalition launches alternative NBN policy | ZDNet

Coalition launches alternative NBN policy



(Image: Screenshot by Josh Taylor/ZDNet)





























Topic: NBN





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  • Coalition and Abbot a joke

    Wont be voting them for sure!
    Nicholas Beament
    • That makes 3 of you

      The rest of us will be.
      • Yes

        Let the fun begin...
  • Sting in the tail

    This surely part below, I would say certainly will cause a cost blowout. I also wonder what the "uplink" test is.

  • Terrible document

    Having read the document its hard to be anything but worried. Lots of imaginary numbers which are explained as coming from unnamed background documents as well as some faulty logic.

    All the timelines seem to assume that Telstra will donate their copper network for free the election day. And that Telstra, the only organisation with the skills and equipment to maintain the copper, will not charge a high margin for maintenance on 30 year old very low redundancy copper.
    • Indeed...

      They will waste $30B for an obsolete, stop-gap network... all because they are unable (in politics 2013) to admit the others actually had a good policy.
      • 'They' will be in power

        And every day you will suffer.

        Bit like the 70% of Australia that suffers under the current administration.

        Suck it up.
        • Tell us...

          Your views of their plan ...LOL.

          Like we really care what you think...
  • In addition to the build cost....

    Everyone is fixated on build cost, but can someone please tell me how much it is going to cost to maintain the existing copper network for the next 5 years, 10 years, 20 years etc and also how much it is going to cost in additional power and maintenance to run all of the nodes? I think once those costs are factored in then the LNP plan will start to run to a similar amount as Labors plan and we will end up with less for it.

    I understand that the cost of maintenance for the copper network runs at about $1bn a year. Someone has to pay for that. I wonder who?
    • It makes me wonder

      That why in Australia do we have government's building all these infrastructure projects. Take the US for instance - http://www.neowin.net/news/1-gbps-google-fiber-confirmed-for-austin-texas-in-mid-2014

      I don't see any govt interference here. Telstra was quite capable of building a fibre optic network and the rest (Optus, IINET, Vodafone, etc) would have followed suit.

      Why do Labor and Coalition insist on building this? No wonders its the biggest govt infrastructure project in the world. No other govt is foolish enough to build infrastructure on this scale.

      Having said that, I find it funny to read arguments that are in favor of high speed networks. Care to explain exactly how that affects the average Joe here? 100Mbps will help me in doing exactly what?

      1. Download videos faster? That would depend on where the video is coming from.
      2. Education? Well wouldn't that mean the end of universities if everyone decides to study from home.
      3. Medical? Besides hospitals, how does faster internet help the average citizen?

      People don't realise that anything in excess of 20Mbps is pointless for 99% of internet usage.

      Higher speeds than that is only beneficial for highly specialized usage. And then, it would be expensive to get the 100Mbps speeds.

      So tell me again what is the real benefit of having high speed internet for everyday use. Businesses are running fine as of now on current infrastructure. And if Fibre is to help business then a FTTN will suffice, with business paying the extra for last mile FTTH depending on whether they need it or not.
      Kunal Nanda
      • Counterpoints

        To understand why this is so important in the future, you need to look to the past.

        For a decade, Telstra invested as little as possible into infrastructure. They are a business, with a need to make as much profit as possible, and they dont do that by spending big. Telstra WAS quite capable of building a fibre optic network, yet didnt. Which is why Labor stepped in and decided to build around them.

        As to WHY we need faster speeds, I cant give you that one deal making reason to be honest. Just like 10 years ago I couldnt have given you a rock solid reason why we needed the 24 Mbps we enjoy today. Yet here you are saying 20 Mbps is enough.

        All I can say is that for the past 2 decades, our net speed needs have doubled every two years, and there still hasnt been a reason to stop. 28.8k wasnt enough, neither was 56Kbps, 128k, 256k, 1.5m, 8m, or 24Mbps.

        So do you really think we're just going to stop needing more speed? You're right, 20 Mbps is enough for 99% of the population. Today. But what about 2019? Or 2025?

        If you use your imagination, its not hard to think of things that will fill the gap created by faster speeds. I can think of 4 or 5 off the top of my head.

        There is potential. Most happen, but they could. If the communications structure is in place to let things evolve. And FttN isnt that infrastructure. Neither is letting private enterprise control it. They will be too slow, and maintain their cheapest option stranglehold as long as possible.

        History has taught many lessons on this. I can only hope we arent doomed to repeat things. 10 years ago, could you have pointed to a reason why we needed 24 Mbps speeds?
        • I enjoyed reading

          Your response. I agree that come 10-15 years we may well have need for faster speeds. The way I see it, a govt's job is to create an environment that is inducive for private businesses to build future infrastructure. I see this happening everywhere, 1st world or 3rd world.

          Secondly, even though FTTN may not be able to deal with speeds needed in 2025 and beyond, at least it can be upgraded to provide fibre from the node to the home in the future.

          My real beef here is with the amount of money that is being spent. At the end of the day it has to be repaid back. The govt is struggling to meet expenses, and here we have a behemoth gobbling money like a black hole.
          Kunal Nanda
      • Kunal

        Go back on dial-up for a month... you will then answer your own questions.

        After all not so long ago, who needed any better eh?
        • @RS-ef540

          What's with Labor supporters and not answering questions with reasonable answers?

          Why should I go back to dial-up? Do you even know what era the dial-up internet belongs to? I have been on ADSL2+ for the last 8 years.

          The questions I raised were as follows:

          1. Why is a govt building this and not a private company?
          2. What are the net benefits of 100Mbps speeds to an average person?

          Can you come up with reasonable answers? If not, then I think it's better to keep your trap shut and not make a fool of yourself in front of the whole world.
          Kunal Nanda
          • Kunal

            It's obvious that you have no vision, but surely you have some reasoning powers, even if minimal?

            1. the government are building it because private enterprise didn't. Do you need proof that they didn't build it? Der...

            2. my analogy, means (now listen and learn) perhaps 100Mbps isn't required by "everyone right now". Just like dial-up was fine for many not so long ago. Hence my advice to you (but again infantile reasoning = err what)

            But to be fair, I suppose if you are unable to comprehend anything, 100Mbps will always be too much for you and heaven forbid, any offspring.

            Now why don't you show us you do have minimal intelligence, by telling us why MT's marginally cheaper $30B, obsolete (yes copper is obsolete for comms) FttN plan, that again hands Telstra the reins of our comms is ridiculous...?

            Ready... go tiger!
  • Strange how the coalition

    Claims to represent the country but with this policy country people will have to pay MORE!
    Voted National for local member and Greens for upper house last time. Both will be different this time around but who or what to vote for is hard.

    In Australia we lack leaders with vision, the NBN is the only real policy that embraced the future.
  • Enforceable by law

    Why is it that a company director can be legally accountable for misrepresentation when seeking a vote of members ... yet our law makers cannot.

    What is the risk of lying?
  • Fiber to the Premises or Nothing.

    I sure wont be voting for the coalition, Id rather stick with my 8Mbps ADSL1 then use there inferior system. I don't care what they say, its gonna cost the same, if not more than the Labor NBN. I don't know about the rest of the country but I need 100Mbps bandwidth for my job, heck id even pay the extra for 1Gbps.