The Tragedy of Australia?s National Broadband Network

Australia?s increasing use of fibre to the node (FTTN) has locked the country out of world-class broadband for years to come.

The Tragedy of Australia?s National Broadband Network

Australia?s increasing use of fibre to the node (FTTN) has locked the country out of world-class broadband for years to come.

Critique of the new NBN policy

This paper addresses the limitations of the Australian government's new NBN policy (11 December 2014) and proposes some changes in approach which share the objectives of the policy but without compromising access speed. The changes will eliminate the lead-in cost entirely and will introduce infrastructure competition in the long-term interests of end-users. They will accelerate the NBN roll-out and ensure that the national infrastructure is responsive to future technologies, market demands and...

A closer look at Deep-fibre FTTdp

In this paper we outline a number of matters that have been raised in relation to Deep-fibre Fibre-to-the-Distribution-Point (FTTdp), and address practical ways that FTTdp can be expected to deliver a maximum overall cost-benefit outcome for the Australian NBN. We conclude that FTTdp must be honestly evaluated if the nation is to achieve a maximal NBN capability outcome.

The politics of speed: An examination of national governments' policies for FTTX networks

This article examines the views of a selection of national governments on the desirability of ubiquitous high speed broadband and any plans or policies in place to achieve this. It notes that 82 percent of investment in 2012-17 in the world?s developed countries is estimated to be in FTTH.

The new NBN policy's Achilles' heel

This paper spells out the negative consequences of the Government?s policy to remove the NBN Co?s current monopoly in providing fixed broadband access infrastructure: for the federal budget, for the competition framework in telecommunications, for a forced premature sale of NBN Co, and for the affordable rollout of high-speed broadband access across the nation.

Mike Quigley's reflections on being awarded the 2013 Charles Todd Medal: the NBN's first four years

This is the text of Mike Quigley's talk on receiving TelSoc's 2013 Charles Todd Medal at a special function in Sydney on 2 December 2013, hosted by Telstra. It provides his reflections on what NBN Co achieved in in the first four years of NBN Co (2009-13), the challenges that the company faced, and how it overcame them.

Getting some reality into debates about NBN FTTP

Developing the best NBN strategy for Australia needs to take cost into consideration, and this article asserts that there is scope for NBN Co to improve its performance in this area. The article argues that FTTN/DSL solutions can deliver good quality broadband, and that the current HFC access netwokrs in Australia can be upgraded to provide next-generation speeds.

A flexible upgrade path for the Australian National Broadband Network

This paper provides a flexible upgrade path for the Australian National Broadband Network (NBN), given that the new federal government has a policy of altering the construction methodology to introduce a copper-based access system such as Fibre to the Node (FTTN). The operational advantages of eliminating FTTN cabinets by use of FTTS (Fibre to the Street) technology are spelled out.

Affordable retail pricing on the NBN

The National Broadband Network (NBN) has the potential to transform economic and social relations. But realising that potential requires universal take-up and significant utilisation of the NBN. This paper examines how NBN wholesale pricing can help to do this. It introduces a mark-up concept to build a bridge between wholesale and retail prices, provides a yard-stick for how we might define affordable retail pricing and suggests how an entry level wholesale price can be specified to deliver...