NBN Rollout Scrapped

[sydboy007]

http://tinyurl.com/l7lh9n2

Provides quite an interesting comparison between Stockholm and Copenhagen.

For those that don't want to read the whole report

Stockholm and Copenhagen are relatively similar in terms of size population and economy.

It is particularly interesting to compare the broadband situation in the two cities, since diametrically opposite conclusions were reached in connection with the deregulation of the telecom market , as to who should own
the ICT infrastructure and how this should be organised.

Stockholm chose, as already described, to view the ICT infrastructure as something that should be accessible to everyone and be delivered by a neutral player in order to create competition.

Copenhagen opted , like most of Europe, to see the ICT infrastructure as the direct prerogative of the market and telecom operators.

This has resulted in the incumbent player TDC being the one who owns and controls most of the ICT infrastructure in Copenhagen.

After about 20 years, it is interesting to see what differentiates the two cities.

Regarding the development of the fibre network, barely 20% of multi-dwelling units in Copenhagen are connected, to be compared with more than 90% in Stockholm.

This means that in Stockholm there are considerably more people that can get high speed broadband, and the cost for a broadband provider to reach customers is lower because the passive infrastructure (representing around 80% of total investment) is already there.

Even the price of dark fibre, the basic ICT infrastructure, is significantly lower in Stockholm than in Copenhagen for both consumers and enterprises.

While in Stockholm all those who need fibre can design their network structure themselves , in Copenhagen the design possibility is heavily limited because the dominant player chose to build a the network frugally, and designed to meet their own service – delivery needs.

The result is a fibre – poor network, which decreases flexibility and design possibility drastically for other operators.

The low level of fibre deployment in Copenhagen also affects the possibility of Symmetric high – speed broadband connection . Hence, while broadband at 100 Mb/s speed both downstream and upstream is common for the majority of residents in Stockholm, it is virtually impossible for households in Copenhagen.

Moreover , the price of a n asymmetric broadband connection (with low upstream speed) in Copenhagen is almost twice the price of a symmetric Broadband connection (with high upstream ) speed in Stockholm.

This has also a strong impact on the business climate, as the possibilities for data communication are crucial for the business creation.

It is symptomatic for instance, that more and more international enterprises have chosen to locate their Scandinavian headquarters in Stockholm in 2009, Stockholm had 69% more establishments than Copenhagen (compared to 10% in 2006)

 

[drsmith]

With regard to the AFR article above on the Tasmanian rollout, do you have any insight on whether Silcar's negotiated 20 per cent increase in NBN contracts as reported is reflected in the June 2013 corporate plan costs ?

No idea about Silcar's reported increase being included in the Corp plan or not.

On the topic of costs, the following article from the AFR is after the June 30 2013 corporate plan, dated August 07.

On signing the original, two-year $380 million contract in 2011, NBN Co said a renewal would be worth an extra $740 million for a further two years.

However, in its attempt to rush the signing, NBN Co is believed to have agreed to increased payments to Silcar, which is paid per premises it passes with fibre optic cabling.

The company also agreed to waive millions of dollars in penalties known as “liquidated damages” for which Silcar was liable, in failing to meet internal targets under the existing contract.

A spokesman for Leighton Holdings subsidiary Thiess, which took full control of Silcar last month, said the deal’s value of “up to $300 million” over 12 months depended on the scope of construction, which was yet to be decided.

http://www.afr.com/p/technology/nbn_co_renews_lucrative_contract_9BqF2e7dpi2RIpDaOQA1yI

The article to which the above was linked was this from late last week,

http://www.afr.com/p/national/nbn_builders_really_struggling_AvQXe0z06mrpuU16Mqq7HJ

 

[sydboy007]

http://delimiter.com.au/2013/10/21/fttx-chaos-nbn-co-cant-price-everything/

Will be interesting to see if the pricing chaos rules. Considerign the POIN mess the ACCC enforced i would expect we will definitely see different pricing for FTTN / FTTB / FTTP and who knows what pricing changes will occur for the fixed wireless and satellite.

The cost for internet access from the same company at the same speed tier and quota limit could change from presmises to premises on a street purely due to the mode of access available.

I doubt MT will be talking about this issue any time soon. He's been too busy softening up the NBN board with more ex Telstra employees. Mightn't be too much longer before the Big T logo replaces the NBNCo one.

 

[sydboy007]

nice to see open transparent Malcolm is now avoiding the media over the appointment of his Ozemale mate Russelot and ex Telstra employee to boot, along with Milne.

neither seems to have been involved with telco infrastructure, so one has to wonder besides political favouritism and possible Telstrafication of NBNCo, why did they get the jobs so easily?

So we have ex telstra employees with a histroy of backign the Liberal party, and Russelot has also been out spoken on his support of FTTN.

Seems like MT has taken to heart never hold an enquiry unless you know the recommendation.

 

[overhang]

nice to see open transparent Malcolm is now avoiding the media over the appointment of his Ozemale mate Russelot and ex Telstra employee to boot, along with Milne.

neither seems to have been involved with telco infrastructure, so one has to wonder besides political favouritism and possible Telstrafication of NBNCo, why did they get the jobs so easily?

So we have ex telstra employees with a histroy of backign the Liberal party, and Russelot has also been out spoken on his support of FTTN.

Seems like MT has taken to heart never hold an enquiry unless you know the recommendation.

It gets worse, Milne still owns 305k of shares in Telstra worth about $1.5 million. How can he possibly be considered for such a position given the obvious conflict of interests. This demonstrates sheer incompetence in selecting this board however I don't think that's the case, more the case of MT choosing people that achieve his desired broadband plan. As we find out more it seems clear this is hardly an impartial transparent review that we should expect. Is a Telstra shareholder really going to have tax payers best interests at heart when reviewing the renegotiation of the Telstra deal worth billions? Milne has also publicly been on record supporting FTTN over FTTP, MT sure stacked the deck on this one.

 

[Garpal Gumnut]

nice to see open transparent Malcolm is now avoiding the media over the appointment of his Ozemale mate Russelot and ex Telstra employee to boot, along with Milne.

neither seems to have been involved with telco infrastructure, so one has to wonder besides political favouritism and possible Telstrafication of NBNCo, why did they get the jobs so easily?

So we have ex telstra employees with a histroy of backign the Liberal party, and Russelot has also been out spoken on his support of FTTN.

Seems like MT has taken to heart never hold an enquiry unless you know the recommendation.

It gets worse, Milne still owns 305k of shares in Telstra worth about $1.5 million. How can he possibly be considered for such a position given the obvious conflict of interests. This demonstrates sheer incompetence in selecting this board however I don't think that's the case, more the case of MT choosing people that achieve his desired broadband plan. As we find out more it seems clear this is hardly an impartial transparent review that we should expect. Is a Telstra shareholder really going to have tax payers best interests at heart when reviewing the renegotiation of the Telstra deal worth billions? Milne has also publicly been on record supporting FTTN over FTTP, MT sure stacked the deck on this one.

It will take some time to work through the complete enema that the ALP unleashed on Telecommunications when it devised the NBN.

Be patient Syd and Overhang.

Hug your thighs and await for a cleansing of governance, which has been sadly lacking from this constipated brainfart by two of the biggest dills in the ALP, Conroy and Rudd.

This project needs management, not every second **** a hoop IT guy with an opinion.

It may be a nation changing project, but it needs proper governance.

gg

 

[sydboy007]

It will take some time to work through the complete enema that the ALP unleashed on Telecommunications when it devised the NBN.

Be patient Syd and Overhang.

Hug your thighs and await for a cleansing of governance, which has been sadly lacking from this constipated brainfart by two of the biggest dills in the ALP, Conroy and Rudd.

This project needs management, not every second **** a hoop IT guy with an opinion.

It may be a nation changing project, but it needs proper governance.

gg

So you're quite comfortable with Malcolm providing jobs to close friends who are ex Telstra employees.

Any idea how people who still have a vested interest in Telstra can act impartially? Is it wise to set up a technologically agnostic review of the NBN and assign someone who is strongly pro FTTN to help run the audit?

I've seen you criticise the ALP for jobs to mates, yet your strangely silent when the Liberals do it.

 

[Garpal Gumnut]

So you're quite comfortable with Malcolm providing jobs to close friends who are ex Telstra employees.

Any idea how people who still have a vested interest in Telstra can act impartially? Is it wise to set up a technologically agnostic review of the NBN and assign someone who is strongly pro FTTN to help run the audit?

I've seen you criticise the ALP for jobs to mates, yet your strangely silent when the Liberals do it.

I can hear your concerns Syd.

My impression is that they are EX Telstra people.

And that Malcolm Turnbull is a much smarter businessman than Conroy ever was.

The ALP is an organisation which has specialised in "jobs for mates ", so I make no comment on your slur on Malcolm Turnbull.

I would be surprised if Muppets were appointed.

gg

 

[overhang]

I can hear your concerns Syd.

My impression is that they are EX Telstra people.

And that Malcolm Turnbull is a much smarter businessman than Conroy ever was.

The ALP is an organisation which has specialised in "jobs for mates ", so I make no comment on your slur on Malcolm Turnbull.

I would be surprised if Muppets were appointed.

gg

I agree MT is a more astute businessman than Conroy but Conroy also seemed to have a greater grasp of the IT sector than MT all though I find them both knowledgeable in this area.
The bottom line is Milne should have never taken this job with the obvious conflict of interests and he shouldn't have been asked to. I'm also concerned that this report won't be impartial considering the majority of the IT sector indorses FTTP over FTTN but yet MT seems to have arranged for the minority of those opposed to FTTP to head this report but I guess balance on the matter would have been too much to ask for.

 

[Garpal Gumnut]

I agree MT is a more astute businessman than Conroy but Conroy also seemed to have a greater grasp of the IT sector than MT all though I find them both knowledgeable in this area.
The bottom line is Milne should have never taken this job with the obvious conflict of interests and he shouldn't have been asked to. I'm also concerned that this report won't be impartial considering the majority of the IT sector indorses FTTP over FTTN but yet MT seems to have arranged for the minority of those opposed to FTTP to head this report but I guess balance on the matter would have been too much to ask for.

I'd agree with your comments, overhang.

gg

 

[sydboy007]

Rumour has it that MT is asking Dodo to write the speed disclaimer for his Fridge Node Network

The actual speed you experience depends on a number of factors, including, your equipment, the quality and location of your line, including how far your connection is from the local telephone exchange, the applications you are using, the capacity and speed of our systems, the systems of our suppliers, and the Internet generally. For these reasons, you should not expect your actual speed to be at or near the theoretical maximum.

 

[sydboy007]

My gosh. CRISIS with MTs NBN

NBN Co executive Leisel Ramjoo quits post.

 

[Logique]

http://www.boursorama.com/forum-alcatel-lucent-telstra-copper-network-hits-100mbps-427074247-1

Telstra copper network hits 100Mbps mark
By: Fran Foo, The Australian, October 29, 2013

"TELSTRA and Alcatel-Lucent have achieved speeds of up to 100 megabits per second over existing copper networks, which the Coalition aims to use as part of its fibre-to-the-node National Broadband Network plan.

The news comes as the French telecommunications equipment maker called on the government to be "swift and efficient" with its NBN reviews.

In their trials, Telstra and Alcatel-Lucent used vectoring technology, which enables download speeds of up to 100Mbps on copper lines using noise-cancelling technology.

The trials, which began last month, aimed to showcase Telstra's credentials as a potential NBN construction partner.

Alcatel-Lucent said the results were consistent with its global experience of between 80Mbps and 100Mbps over 400m-500m of copper wire.

The length of the copper line to internet nodes makes a difference to the connection performance - the longer the line, the worse the quality.

Unlike Labor's fibre-to-the-premises approach, the Coalition's FTTN model relies on Telstra's vast copper network to connect users to the internet after fibre is laid to street cabinets or nodes.

While Labor relied primarily on fibre to connect individual premises, the Coalition has opted for a mix of technologies to deploy the NBN at a faster rate and lower cost.

Labor's $37.3 billion NBN, capable of speeds up to 1000Mbps, would have been completed in mid-2021.

This compares with the Coalition's 2019 target, which will deliver a minimum of 25Mbps.

Alcatel-Lucent is involved in projects with global carriers that have switched from FTTP to FTTN for various reasons, from budget to faster deployment.

Alcatel-Lucent Australia president Sean O'Halloran said the company was well positioned to deal with the future make-up of the NBN, even if the ban on Chinese telecommunications equipment maker Huawei for national security reasons was lifted. Mr O'Halloran said FTTN technologies could be purchased under its existing contract with NBN Co, which is worth up to $1.5bn.

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said that the government will honour existing NBN contracts.

The government is conducting four reviews into the NBN to determine the state of the project.

Deloitte, KordaMentha and Boston Consulting Group will assist in a 60-day audit of NBN Co's operations, due to report in early December.

It will be led by the network builder's head of strategy and transformation, JB Rousselot.

Other studies include a 90-day study of broadband quality by the Department of Communications, a cost-benefit analysis by independent consultants and an independent audit into NBN Co's governance.

Mr O'Halloran said he was keen for the reviews to be conducted "as quickly and efficiently as possible so that we can move forward and get on with what we need to do".

"The scrutiny is good. The result of this will be a more robust approach to the National Broadband Network," he told The Australian on the sidelines of the Broadband World Forum in Amsterdam last week.

"I'm looking for a result that will give us a clear path forward and (address) some of the criticisms of the past and concerns that people have.

"We just want that process to be as quick as it can be in order to achieve that result."

Alcatel-Lucent is also involved in newly announced trials, with NBN Co to test fibre-to-the-basement technology for multi-dwelling units.

Mr O'Halloran said the direction NBN Co had under the previous government "didn't give them enough flexibility". "They were kind of restricted in looking at some of the efficiencies that they could have got in connecting premises. What I like about the approach with the Coalition is they're adding another access technology, which gives NBN Co a lot more flexibility.""

 

[drsmith]

NBN Co's 2013 annual report is out today,

http://www.nbnco.com.au/content/dam/nbnco/documents/nbn-co-annual-report-2013.pdf

In it is this,

Construction commenced or completed(1),

Fibre brownfields premises 1,114,964 (2013 cumulative)

(1) Construction commenced or completed: refer to definition of construction commenced in the glossary of terms.

Construction Commenced from Glossary of terms,

FTTP Brownfields:
Contract Instructions (CI) have been issued together with the initial Network Design Documents
(NDD) so that construction partners can commence work on the detailed design, field inspections and
rodding/roping activities in an FSAM. This is followed by the release of a rollout map for the FSAM on
the NBN Co website showing the coverage area for that FSAM and the estimated number of premises
to be passed.

 

[medicowallet]

http://www.theage.com.au/technology...posts-932m-operating-loss-20131029-2wegk.html

NBN Co posts $932m operating loss

And while the company's total yearly telecommunication revenue of $17 million



If I ran my business like that.....

MW

 

[sydboy007]

http://www.theage.com.au/technology...posts-932m-operating-loss-20131029-2wegk.html

NBN Co posts $932m operating loss

And while the company's total yearly telecommunication revenue of $17 million



If I ran my business like that.....

MW

So you're saying you could start a capital intensive business from scratch and would generate a profit pretty much immediately?

If there's a loss in the 2014-15 FY will you be as critical?

QF is looking to break even within 3-5 years with their Jetstar Japan rollout. Woolworths was looking at around 5 years to break even with their Masters rollout (if you read the excuses they raised about the higher than expected losses you'd be shocked), and they're not nearly as CAPEX heavy as the NBN.

 

[dutchie]

Joe's got this right..

Joe Hockey says no to Huawei investment in NBN

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-polit...ment-in-nbn-20131030-2wf1f.html#ixzz2j9v5cluH

 

[drsmith]

The delays in the rollout saved NBN Co from a bigger 2012/13 operating loss.

THE company building the National Broadband Network has revealed a $932 million operating loss after recording only $17 million in revenue for the 2013 financial year.

While NBN Co increased revenue by $15 million compared to the 12 months to June 30, 2012, the company fell short of the revenue targets outlined in its Corporate Plan which predicted the company to bring in $18 million this year.

Revenue generated from the NBN Co's 70,100 retail customers provided an average revenue per user (ARPU) figure of $37 a month, which was higher than expected.

NBN Co’s loss before interest and tax was $880 million, far below the projected $1.3 billion loss it forecast in its corporate plan. The loss was not as severe as projected as delays to the rollout schedule meant the NBN Co’s capital and operating expenses were lower than first forecast. NBN Co’s capital expenditure was $1.76 billion against the $3.19 billion forecast in its corporate plan.

The figures, which are contained in the NBN Co's annual report for the 12 months to June 30, 2013, also reveal that the company had $1 billion in cash and investments following government-funded equity injections of $2.4 billion during the year.

Those equity injections, however, were $2.3 billion less than the company's forecast contribution of $4.7 billion for the year.

The NBN Co's operating expenditure came in at $749 million, significantly lower than its forecast $1 billion, because of delays in its rollout schedule.

"The main contributing factors for this were slower than anticipated progress in the rollout of the fibre," the NBN Co said.

The flip side in the delays though would be a longer transition to profitability.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/bus...operating-losses/story-e6frgaif-1226749116622

 

[drsmith]

Legal spat between Telstra and NBN Co,

Under its deal with the NBN, Telstra will receive $9bn in net present value for providing access to certain infrastructure, including fibre, exchange space and ducts. The dispute is of significant financial value to Telstra as payments to the telco are to increase with CPI for the term of deal's 30-year lease period.

The telco giant believes that because that $11bn deal was signed in June 2011 that CPI adjustments on its payments should have triggered on January 1, 2012. The NBN Co however wanted the adjustments to begin a year later on January 1, 2013.

"We have one take on the contract and NBN Co has another. We have not been able to reach agreement through a long mediation process so, as provided for in the contract and as the next step, Telstra is asking the Court to decide," said a Telstra spokesperson.

I would have thought this was a pretty basic term in the contract to get clear in the first place.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/bus...-cpi-adjustments/story-e6frgaif-1226749562372

 

[sydboy007]

Legal spat between Telstra and NBN Co,



I would have thought this was a pretty basic term in the contract to get clear in the first place.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/bus...-cpi-adjustments/story-e6frgaif-1226749562372

My experience with these large contracts is too many assumptions are made.

In my previous job looking after a bank network we lost the contract to a large Telco. My company being the morons they were did a lot of things for free to keep the bank happy, then wondered why they could barely turn a profit from $60-70M in revenue every year.

The bank staff assumed a lot of the extra freebies we were giving them were in the contract, so never actually got them added into the terms of service with the new Telco. Suffice to say the bank got a rude shock when they were paying a lot of money for those extras.

It was fun to watch them go at each other. Both were used to getting their ways. It was a very strained relationship, with 10 years of married life.

The great laugh for us was the fact the Telco had told the bank they would migrate the bank to their network within 6 months. I think the first service was migrated around the 15th month mark, with final service moved 25 or 26 months months later.