Former NBN Co boss Mike Quigley warns Government review not to rewrite history - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation): "The former head of the National Broadband Network has warned the new management team not to rewrite history in its review of the NBN.
Mike Quigley was chief executive of NBN Co, the company rolling out the network, between 2009 and his retirement in October this year.
His replacement, former Telstra chief executive Ziggy Switkowski, is in the middle of a strategic review of the entire company.
It is investigating the viability of the former Labor government's fibre to the premise (FttP) approach.
The Coalition's fibre to the node (FttN) alternative takes the fibre to street cabinets and then uses the legacy copper network for the last link to the home.
FttP provides ultimately faster speeds, although an FttN network would be cheaper and completed faster."
'via Blog this'
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
NBN Co advised against buying Telstra’s copper
NBN Co advised against buying Telstra’s copper: "Former NBN Co executives urged the incoming Coalition government to rent, rather than buy, Telstra’s copper network as part of a plan to change the national broadband network rollout.
An analysis of the Coalition’s broadband policy by the company, and obtained by Fairfax Media, warned it could be saddled with more than $1 billion in annual maintenance costs and face millions more in technology upgrades if it took control of the existing copper network.
The Coalition government is planning to connect nodes on street corners with fibre optic cabling and use the ageing phone lines to roll out faster broadband to homes and businesses the rest of the way.
It is currently attempting to renegotiate the $11.2 billion agreement with Telstra to gain access to the network, with Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull indicating a preference for buying the assets. But NBN Co said Telstra should maintain control of the copper network, and continue to repair it, while leasing it to NBN Co."
'via Blog this'
An analysis of the Coalition’s broadband policy by the company, and obtained by Fairfax Media, warned it could be saddled with more than $1 billion in annual maintenance costs and face millions more in technology upgrades if it took control of the existing copper network.
The Coalition government is planning to connect nodes on street corners with fibre optic cabling and use the ageing phone lines to roll out faster broadband to homes and businesses the rest of the way.
It is currently attempting to renegotiate the $11.2 billion agreement with Telstra to gain access to the network, with Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull indicating a preference for buying the assets. But NBN Co said Telstra should maintain control of the copper network, and continue to repair it, while leasing it to NBN Co."
'via Blog this'
Coalition to release NBN review by year end
Coalition to release NBN review by year end: "The government will refuse to comply with an order from the Senate to make public the strategic review handed to it by NBN Co before parliament rises next week, and has pledged instead it will be released by the end of the year.
Labor is expected to support a motion moved in the upper house by Greens senator Scott Ludlam later on Tuesday to compel the government to table the report by Monday December 7.
The 60-day review, carried out by NBN Co and its new chairman Ziggy Switkowski, is expected to test the feasibility and projected costs of communications minister Malcolm Turnbull’s plans to have 25 megabits per second broadband for every house by 2016.
But a spokesman for Mr Turnbull said the government was not likely to comply with the order and will publish selected parts of the review in its own time."
'via Blog this'
Labor is expected to support a motion moved in the upper house by Greens senator Scott Ludlam later on Tuesday to compel the government to table the report by Monday December 7.
The 60-day review, carried out by NBN Co and its new chairman Ziggy Switkowski, is expected to test the feasibility and projected costs of communications minister Malcolm Turnbull’s plans to have 25 megabits per second broadband for every house by 2016.
But a spokesman for Mr Turnbull said the government was not likely to comply with the order and will publish selected parts of the review in its own time."
'via Blog this'
Monday, December 2, 2013
NBN debate in urgent dose of rollout reality
NBN debate in urgent dose of rollout reality: "OPINION
None of the NBN rollout targets - on either side of politics - look achievable, says analyst Tony Brown.
NBN Co Executive Chairman Ziggy Switkowski admitted last week that it would be a “very, very demanding” task for the company to meet Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s aim of delivering 25 megabits per second via fibre-to-the-node national broadband network to all Australian homes by end-2016 – you can almost hear Turnbull’s Labor predecessor Stephen Conroy still chortling from here.
But Conroy should not laugh too hard after all, at the end of his six-year tenure as Communications Minister in June, it had become abundantly apparent that he was simply never going to be able to deliver on his promise of delivering a nationwide fibre-to-the-premise network to 12.2 million premises by 2012 either.
The bottom line – as Dr Switkowski told the Senate Select Committee on the NBN last week – is that the entire NBN project has been bedevilled by the imposition of “heroic targets” – none of which have even come close to being met."
'via Blog this'
None of the NBN rollout targets - on either side of politics - look achievable, says analyst Tony Brown.
NBN Co Executive Chairman Ziggy Switkowski admitted last week that it would be a “very, very demanding” task for the company to meet Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s aim of delivering 25 megabits per second via fibre-to-the-node national broadband network to all Australian homes by end-2016 – you can almost hear Turnbull’s Labor predecessor Stephen Conroy still chortling from here.
But Conroy should not laugh too hard after all, at the end of his six-year tenure as Communications Minister in June, it had become abundantly apparent that he was simply never going to be able to deliver on his promise of delivering a nationwide fibre-to-the-premise network to 12.2 million premises by 2012 either.
The bottom line – as Dr Switkowski told the Senate Select Committee on the NBN last week – is that the entire NBN project has been bedevilled by the imposition of “heroic targets” – none of which have even come close to being met."
'via Blog this'
Sunday, December 1, 2013
NBN strategic review won't be made public today | ZDNet
NBN strategic review won't be made public today | ZDNet: "The Coalition government is expecting to receive a draft of NBN Co's strategic review today, but the document will not be made public until it has been finalised with commercial in confidence information censored, the office of Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has confirmed.
Today marks 60 days since Turnbull tasked NBN Co under executive chairman Ziggy Switkowski to commence a strategic review into the rollout of the National Broadband Network (NBN), and a potential way forward for the company responsible for the rollout.
Although Turnbull has pledged a new level of transparency for the NBN, a spokesperson for Turnbull told ZDNet that the government would receive an advanced draft of the report from NBN Co today, but that this document would not yet be made public."
'via Blog this'
Today marks 60 days since Turnbull tasked NBN Co under executive chairman Ziggy Switkowski to commence a strategic review into the rollout of the National Broadband Network (NBN), and a potential way forward for the company responsible for the rollout.
Although Turnbull has pledged a new level of transparency for the NBN, a spokesperson for Turnbull told ZDNet that the government would receive an advanced draft of the report from NBN Co today, but that this document would not yet be made public."
'via Blog this'
NBN faces "high risk" from FttN-related IT development: NBN Co | ZDNet
NBN faces "high risk" from FttN-related IT development: NBN Co | ZDNet: "NBN Co will need to undertake a “high-risk” IT systems redevelopment project so extensive and complex that it threatens the ability of the Abbott government to meet its fibre-to-the-node (FttN) rollout targets, the company has warned in official advice to new communications minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Significant expenditure on supporting IT systems has already accompanied the rollout of Labor's fibre-to-the-premises (FttP) model, with contracts such as a $200m deal with IBM, a $38m splash on Cisco Systems routers and firewalls and $9.5m spent on Cisco data-centre equipment supporting the extensive operational support systems and business support systems (OSS/BSS) necessary to keep the $37.4 billion network running."
'via Blog this'
Significant expenditure on supporting IT systems has already accompanied the rollout of Labor's fibre-to-the-premises (FttP) model, with contracts such as a $200m deal with IBM, a $38m splash on Cisco Systems routers and firewalls and $9.5m spent on Cisco data-centre equipment supporting the extensive operational support systems and business support systems (OSS/BSS) necessary to keep the $37.4 billion network running."
'via Blog this'
NBN not as cheap, not as soon – but it will be slow
NBN not as cheap, not as soon – but it will be slow: "NBN chief Ziggy Switkowski is already casting doubts on the Malcolm’s Turnbull’s promise to finish the network sooner and at a lower cost.
On Friday the Senate Committee on the NBN questioned a reluctant Ziggy Switkowski on the second day of its first hearing. Even before the first NBN review, due later today, is published, Switkowski has cast doubts on whether costs can be contained or the implementation schedule met. Both were key issues in the election campaign, with the Coalition continually criticising Labor over cost overruns and the time it was all taking.
Switkowski now says it will be hard to meet Malcolm Turnbull’s 2016 deadline for connecting all premises in Australia to the largely FTTN network, confirming what he said at the recent Senate Estimate Committee hearings"
'via Blog this'
On Friday the Senate Committee on the NBN questioned a reluctant Ziggy Switkowski on the second day of its first hearing. Even before the first NBN review, due later today, is published, Switkowski has cast doubts on whether costs can be contained or the implementation schedule met. Both were key issues in the election campaign, with the Coalition continually criticising Labor over cost overruns and the time it was all taking.
Switkowski now says it will be hard to meet Malcolm Turnbull’s 2016 deadline for connecting all premises in Australia to the largely FTTN network, confirming what he said at the recent Senate Estimate Committee hearings"
'via Blog this'
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