Coalition’s NBN already in trouble, says leaked report

Coalition’s NBN already in trouble, says leaked report: "An internal NBN Co document says the Coalition’s fibre to the node (FTTN) policy is inadequate and unlikely to be completed on time.
NBN Co executive chairman Ziggy Switkowski is unlikely to have an easy time of it when he fronts the Labor-dominated Senate Committee today (story follows).

Fairfax Media has published details of an internal NBN Co analysis which says the Coalition’s FTTN strategy, which Switkowski strongly supports, is poorly planned and is unlikely to be completed on time or on budget. The report also says that its revenue will be much less than predicted, mainly for those reasons.

The paper was prepared as part of the so-called ‘blue book’, which departments typically prepare as a briefing document for incoming governments.

“There are a number of conditions that will impact on NBN Co’s ability to undertake a volume network rollout,” Fairfax quotes the report as saying. “Given the complexity of these conditions, it is unlikely that NBN Co will meet the 2016 deadline to upgrade the fixed network to enable Australians to have minimum download speeds of 25 Mbps.”"

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Govt unlikely to hit NBN deadline: Report | ZDNet

Govt unlikely to hit NBN deadline: Report | ZDNet: "The government's 2016 delivery deadline for the National Broadband Network (NBN) looks likely to be blown out, according to a leaked internal NBN Co document.

The Coalition has promised to deliver 25 megabits per second (Mbps) broadband services to all homes by 2016, but a brief to the incoming government, obtained by Fairfax Media, says construction and technical issues mean that may not happen.

"There are a number of conditions that will impact on NBN Co's ability to undertake a volume (fibre-to-the-node) network rollout," the report states.

"Given the complexity of these conditions, it is unlikely that NBN Co will meet the 2016 deadline to upgrade the fixed network to enable Australians to have minimum download speeds of 25Mbps."

In addition to raising issues about timing, the document also cuts revenue projections by up to 30 percent by 2021."

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Confidential briefing: NBN unlikely to meet Coalition's deadline

Confidential briefing: NBN unlikely to meet Coalition's deadline: "The Coalition’s national broadband network model will prove inadequate for many businesses, is poorly planned and is unlikely to be completed on time, according to NBN Co’s internal analysis for the incoming Abbott government.

Obtained by Fairfax Media, the analysis casts doubts over the timing and cost-effectiveness of the government’s proposed fibre-to-the-node model, highlighting numerous legislative, construction and technical challenges likely to blow out the Coalition’s 2016 and 2019 delivery deadlines.

Dr Ziggy Switkowski, executive chairman of NBN Co, during Budget Estimates at Parliament House. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
The draft document also slashes revenue projections important for the project’s commercial viability by up to 30 per cent by 2021.

Under the Coalition policy, fibre optic cables would be installed to nodes, or street cabinets. From there, existing copper wires would complete the connection to homes and businesses."

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Copper pits for NBN a "disgrace": Union

Copper pits for NBN a "disgrace": Union: "The union representing Telstra field staff estimates up to 80 per cent of the telco's "disgraceful" copper-wire network pits have been patched together by plastic bags or ring-barked cables.

It's the very same copper network NBN Co plans to buy or lease off Telstra for the fibre-to-the-node national broadband network (NBN) being championed by the Abbott government.

"This would be a fraud on the Australian taxpayer," CEPU NSW assistant secretary Shane Murphy told a Senate hearing on the NBN in Canberra on Thursday.

Mr Murphy said 75 to 80 per cent of Telstra's copper pits were as rotten as the pictures he brought to the Senate committee, which showed the ageing network being crudely held together by ring-barked cables and covered by plastic bags in a vain attempt to keep water out.

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"This is the exact network that will be sitting outside there, tying into the NBN that is built to the node," he said."

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NBN revenue to be hit by triple-whammy | The Australian

NBN revenue to be hit by triple-whammy | The Australian: "OFFICIALS from the Department of Communications have admitted that the National Broadband Network will take a triple-whammy revenue hit because of changes to the project's technology and rollout plans.

Speaking before the Senate Select Committee on the National Broadband Network, first assistant secretary Mark Heazlett acknowledged the need for revisions to the NBN Co corporate plan to account for revenue declines brought on by increased competition from other networks and an inability to sell higher-speed broadband plans.

The Coalition is changing the rollout of the NBN from a plan that under Labor promised to connect a fibre optic network to 93 per cent of the nation's homes and businesses."

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Mixed messages on Telstra copper complicate FttN NBN case | ZDNet

Mixed messages on Telstra copper complicate FttN NBN case | ZDNet: "Despite strong declarations over the years that it is both an absolute disgrace and a shining example of legacy infrastructure, Telstra's copper remains the subject of great confusion – with mixed messages from Malcolm Turnbull, NBN Co, Telstra and others confirming that nobody really knows whether Telstra's pivotal copper access network (CAN) is up to the task of delivering next-generation broadband or not.

Detractors have certainly had their say: iiNet CTO John Lindsay recently said parts of the network were "dilapidated" and many others have followed suit – including recent NBN Co board appointee Simon Hackett, who has previously harangued Telstra's "blackmail" of the NBN; argued for government ownership of Telstra's CAN; said Telstra will ultimately control how the Coalition's policy is rolled out; turned to Clarke & Dawe to explain the Coalition's NBN policy; and in April this year delivered a speech entitled 'The Problem with FttN'."

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Telstra copper network 'robust': NBN chief

Telstra copper network 'robust': NBN chief: "Telstra's decades-old copper network continues to "perform robustly", new NBN chairman Ziggy Switkowski says.

Dr Switkowski, who was Telstra chief executive for five years from 1999, says the copper network - the oldest part of which is 50 years old - is still working well.

"Here I default back to my own history ... It's constantly being maintained, remediated, upgraded," he told a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday.

However, he said he was relying on anecdotal information as he hadn't received any official information from Telstra recently."

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