NBN Rollout Scrapped

[derty]

Here is what some high school students think of NBN:

Full aticle from SMH: Students shrug off NBN as a 'waste'



And they ae not happy with Conroy's proposed internet filters. These kids will soon be able to vote and it's good to see young people thinking for themselves...

I guess they are entitled to use "Students" in the title as they did identify two students who thought it was a waste.

But year 11 student Alex Klammer believes the $35.9 billion broadband network is a waste of money... Alex was not the only Diamond Valley College student to question the value of the NBN.

''I personally think the money could be used for better things like hospitals,'' said year 9 student Ashleigh Gentles,

 

[ozbrit]

I believe a lot of the spin by the Government over the NBN and it's benefits to Australian society is ridiculously overstated.

My wife and me love the Internet, we're also frustrated as hell with Telstra and their pair-gain telephone lines which excludes so many Aussies from having a decent wired Internet service. Instead, we rely on wireless broadband from the local Optus tower. Both of us have $39/8GB p/mth subscriptions. to even stream a youtube clip at it's lowest quality is painful with buffering occurring every 10 secs or so. In view of this, we would stand to gain from NBN in our street more than most.

That said, I view the NBN as being the proverbial sledge-hammer to crack a nut. The largest group of supporters for the NBN imo being nerds, gamers and movie down loaders. A 1500/500kbps connection is plenty good enough for emails, web browsing and education research in my experience. Though, those of us who like to VOIP (if given the chance) or stream audio would like a bit more than that

If the Coalition had been more synpathetic to people like us and recognised that Telstra's ADSL network even in Capital City suburbs was something akin to a Swiss cheese, they may have convincingly won the NBN debate with voters and possibly got the Independents onboard as well.

grants from the public purse to fix ADSL blackspots, optic fibre to all CBD's, Universities, Hospitals and Trading estates (within reason), plus the upgrading of ADSL1 to ADSL2+ where prcticable, then wireless broadband for the more rural locations might have been a realistic and much cheaper alternative plan to the NBN.

So the NBN it is, I say bring it on, we're only a hundred k's up the coast from Coffs Harbour one of the NBN hubs for NSW, but looking at it from an unselfish standpoint, I don't need FTTH, just a reliable copper connection would do it for me.

 

[trainspotter]

NBN Co halts network construction tender

The company building the National Broadband Network has been forced to halt a tendering process to find construction companies to lay the planned fibre around the nation, after negotiations broke down with 14 suppliers over price.

“We have said all along that we are building an NBN, but not at any price,” said NBN Co head of Corporate Services Kevin Brown in a statement distributed this morning by the company. “We have thoroughly benchmarked our project against similar engineering and civil works projects in Australia and overseas, and we will not proceed on the basis of prices we are currently being offered.”

The NBN Co executive said the company had an obligation to its shareholders — “indeed, to all taxpayers” — to ensure it carefully managed their investment in the NBN, and was serious about the costs involved. He noted that NBN Co did not believe that the prices being proposed by the construction companies reflected capacity constraints in the industry.

Brown noted NBN Co was confident it could secure better value for money “by going a different route”. The potential new approach would take into account “recent supply chain arrangements, volume certainty, a gainshare for continuous improvement, and involve a national construction footprint,” said Brown.

A spokesperson for NBN Co was not immediately available to clarify what the executive’s statement meant.

http://www.itwire.com/it-industry-news/strategy/46245-nbn-co-halts-network-construction-tender

Soaring costs halt tenders for NBN

THE company in charge of the $36 billion national broadband network has frozen negotiations over vital contracts, citing exorbitant demands from construction companies.

The taxpayer-owned NBN Co wrote to 14 construction firms yesterday, saying a tender process was ''suspended'' indefinitely because none of their proposals had acceptable prices.

NBN made the drastic move because it believed the bidders were trying to gouge excessive profits from the taxpayer-backed project, using rising labour costs from the resources boom as an excuse.

While NBN is instead working on a ''Plan B'' to finish the work more cheaply, the suspension has reignited the political furore over the project's price tag, which critics say is vulnerable to soaring wage demands.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/soaring-costs-halt-tenders-for-nbn-20110331-1cnl3.html?skin=text-only

How do you say it again? ................ meh ! PMSL.

 

[drsmith]

Another wobbly wheel for the government ?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/04/05/3182679.htm?section=justin

 

[sinner]

Very amusing.



Why yes, I do keep notes on some things some members sometimes say

Quigley was even on the wires saying NBN labor would be harder to obtain because of higher demand for labor due to flood/cyclone rebuilding.

 

[sptrawler]

The only viable company with the workforce equiped to carry the project out is Telstra. Just don't know how they would sell that one to the voters. LOL

 

[trainspotter]

As the NBN costings will not form part of the Labor Guvmint budget and it has always been touted by Senator Conroy as a "stand alone project" then surely the companies that bothered to tender will not be allowed any sort of compensation?

Wonder where Head of Construction Flannigan will pop up next now that he has headed for the hills?

 

[sptrawler]

Yes trainspotter it will be interesting, the Guvmint will probably don't want to use tlstra but they are probably the only ones that can bring it in anywhere near budget. But they won't want to give anymore money to tlstra because of opposition and electorate backlash. However if they don't they will be ripped off and the result is the same.
Basically it is the same as us punters, sometimes you make a decision and it turns to excrement the N.B.N is starting to smell that way.
If the Government had the time over I am sure they wouldn't have floated Telstra. I think they would be better off spending $48billion buying it back than throwing another$36billion into telecommunications.
If they offered long sufferingTelstra shareholders $4 a share with a tax writeoff it would be cost neutral to them and it would allow everyone to quit the crap.
By the way trainspotter why are we talking in code (Guvmint) (tlstra) LOL

 

[Julia]

The Radio National program "Australia Talks" yesterday was on the NBN.
It began with a quite fascinating argument between two blokes called Kevin, one of whom represents NBN Co. and the other is an independent telecommunications commentator. The latter does not hold back in his condemnation of the project.
Well worth a listen.

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/australiatalks/stories/2011/3178037.htm

 

[trainspotter]

"John Lindsay, the manager of regulatory and corporate affairs at Internode, said under NBN's product and pricing construct, the network would be 10 times as expensive as existing wholesalers were today for corporate and business grade services."

"At the weekend, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said Internode should have raised its "important" concerns earlier in submissions to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission."

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/nat...he-ante-over-nbn/story-fn59niix-1226033611312

Ummmmmmmmmmm they did raise "important" concerns Senator Conroy but were dismissed by your good self as detractors of this visionary nation building exercise.

All together now .................... *sigh*

 

[Garpal Gumnut]

"John Lindsay, the manager of regulatory and corporate affairs at Internode, said under NBN's product and pricing construct, the network would be 10 times as expensive as existing wholesalers were today for corporate and business grade services."

"At the weekend, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said Internode should have raised its "important" concerns earlier in submissions to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission."

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/nat...he-ante-over-nbn/story-fn59niix-1226033611312

Ummmmmmmmmmm they did raise "important" concerns Senator Conroy but were dismissed by your good self as detractors of this visionary nation building exercise.

All together now .................... *sigh*

ts , it is going to get much worse, quite soon.

My sources tell me there is an air of impending doom about the Minister's lackeys, some cracks appearing, a la batts.

And in the inimitable style of the arch cynic, Sir Humphrey Applebee, the following quote, from our existing Prime Minister..

Prime Minister Julia Gillard declined to be drawn on the resignation of Mr Flannigan, who had 25 years experience in the infrastructure services sector.

"A senior figure in the national broadband network has resigned and as he has gone to look for other opportunities, he said: 'This is a courageous and visionary project'," she told reporters in Brisbane.

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-new...ed-to-be-more-transparent-20110406-1d41h.html

gg

 

[Slipperz]

juliar disgusts me. then again so do all her cronies. Our country could do so much much better. labor is utterly disheartening and in the house oakenshot is the absolute complete and utter electoral disgrace of the 21st century in this nation. In 900 years noone could possibly be less unrepresentative of his electorate than him.

 

[sptrawler]

Yes the funny thing with Labor is when you are really young and starting out in life you vote for them because you have an absolute belief in their comitment to help the battler. Then you work hard do without and save your pennies. Maybe decide to live in a remote area to get extra income and experience and try to get a supervisors job. But because you live in these godforsaken places you get no breaks you earn reasonable money but pay a fortune for all the basics, food, rent etc. Then the govrnment calls you a fat cat so you get hammered. You buy a property to try and reduce your rent outgoings. Then the govrnment gives the o.k for fly in fly out and your property is worthless the community suffers because the councils get less rates but more people to support. The local sporting clubs can't get regular members and players.
What a fabulous job we are doing of building a better Australia if things keep going the way they are all you will have across Australia is a service station every 200klms. Julia said before the last election this fly in fly out has to stop it is breaking down our society.
Well what has she done, sod all, just glib one liners to get fly in fly outs to vote for her. As usual Labor is full of interlectual dip $???ts that want to give money to lazy sods and punish workers who are trying to get out of the $???t pit. THEY ARE A DISGRACE AND NEED THROWING OUT. By the way the misspelt Government was intentional as it is not a Government just a group of dicks that have never represented the WORKERS even in their union capacities.
Well that got a lot off my chest and by the way I live in a city.

 

[sails]

Isn't this exactly what many were concerned about with labor going to so much effort to hide any sort of due diligence on the NBN?

From the Australian: NBN builders fear blowout

CONSTRUCTION companies pitching to build Labor's National Broadband Network say the cost of capital works for the mammoth project could surge more than 50 per cent above forecasts to as much as $20 billion unless the NBN Co drastically revamps its bungled tender process.

It appears they are bungling the tender process - how do they think they can possibly build such a major infrastructure? Especially in the light of so many other bungled projects.

 

[Slipperz]

Isn't this exactly what many were concerned about with labor going to so much effort to hide any sort of due diligence on the NBN?

From the Australian: NBN builders fear blowout



It appears they are bungling the tender process - how do they think they can possibly build such a major infrastructure? Especially in the light of so many other bungled projects.

Not looking good is it...http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/NBN-cost-fears-escalate-report-pd20110407-FPP78?OpenDocument&src=hp4&src=amm

That's two pretty critical managers walking away mid project???

 

[drsmith]

......it is going to get much worse, quite soon.

I still don't think it will be scrapped as such.

More like a partial retreat (Labor might say honorable retreat) than a full scale capitulation.

Labor will fear being out of office for a generation if they walk away from it altogether, let alone the shorter term wrath of the independents.

 

[So_Cynical]

Not looking good is it...http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/NBN-cost-fears-escalate-report-pd20110407-FPP78?OpenDocument&src=hp4&src=amm

That's two pretty critical managers walking away mid project???

Well who would of thought that a major infrastructure build (one of the biggest in our history) could possibly run over budget and have a cost blow out.

Cos that's never happened before?

 

[drsmith]

At the retail level, comparison between Internode's ADSL2+ plans and their NBN fibre plans make for interesting reading.

http://www.internode.on.net/residential/adsl_broadband/easy_broadband/
http://www.internode.on.net/residential/fibre_to_the_home/nbn_plans/

Even at the entry level, the NBN plans become much more expensive than the ADSL2+ plans as the GB's go up. For example, 200GB entry level NBN is as expensive as 600GB ADSL2+, unbundled.

 

[noco]

Well who would of thought that a major infrastructure build (one of the biggest in our history) could possibly run over budget and have a cost blow out.

Cos that's never happened before?

Well So_Cynical, a large majority of the Australian voters would have thought it would blow out, just like everything else Labor puts their grubby hands to. Labor always seems to make you believe they are doing something when they are really doing nothing but wasting tax payers money and you do not need me to elaborate on their past.
Just hit everyone with higher taxes to pay for their mistakes.

 

[sails]

Well So_Cynical, a large majority of the Australian voters would have thought it would blow out, just like everything else Labor puts their grubby hands to. Labor always seems to make you believe they are doing something when they are really doing nothing but wasting tax payers money and you do not need me to elaborate on their past.
Just hit everyone with higher taxes to pay for their mistakes.

I think it's not just the blow out itself - it's the massive cost in the first place that many feel is unjustified. Further blow outs on top of that make NBN look even more like a massive white elephant.