Conroy touts 50 percent uptake for NBN pilot

By Liz Tay on Jun 15, 2010 4:12 PM
Filed under Networking

Tasmanian fibre services to launch shortly.

Almost half of all Tasmanian premises in NBN's stage one zones have signed up to fibre services that will launch in "a few short weeks", according to Communications Minister Stephen Conroy.

Addressing the Senate this afternoon, Conroy described a "huge amount of enthusiasm" in the community for stage one NBN services.

Construction of backhaul links for the pilot program in Midway Point, Smithton, and Scottsdale was completed in advance of the 1 June launch of a Tasmanian Network Operations Centre (NOC).

"The rollout in Tasmania is now well underway," Conroy told Parliament. "We are on track to deliver the first of these [NBN] services in a few short weeks."

While the services have yet to be launched, ISPs iiNet, Primus and Internode have announced pricing for NBN access that range from $29.95 per month for a 25Mbps/2Mbps service to $159.95 for 100Mbps/8Mbps.

"We are already seeing an emerging price war between the three [NBN] providers," Conroy said. "That's what the NBN is all about - creating a competitive retail environment."

Last week, The Australian reported that the Tasmanian Government expected only 16 percent of homes and businesses passed by the NBN fibre network to choose to connect to it by 2023.

Conroy's estimates were far more optimistic: "There has been a huge amount of enthusiasm in the community for these services.

"We've seen a sign-up rate of almost 50 percent," he told Parliament today.

Conroy touts 50 percent uptake for NBN pilot

12 comments in this discussion

"@Tom Brown - I merely noted it was interesting to see what competition was providing in London without taxpayer funding. I would argue that in many metropolitan areas today, Telstra isn't ..."

By BrettWinterford

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Comments: 12

ITnovice Jun 15, 2010 5:15 PM	NBN skeptics need to remember that Tasmania has a lot of people who cannot afford broadband connections, the same people that have no health or house insurance. So take up rates in some areas won't be that good due to this factor.
Cham Jun 15, 2010 6:14 PM	And NBN fanboys (for want of a better word to rebut skeptic) need to remember that Tasmania has not had decent broadband before now, so a large uptake of decent broadband is not terribly surprising.
AkiraDoe Jun 15, 2010 11:21 PM	Doesn't this point to poor planning for the pilot trial then? If the trial participants (or those in the footprint) can't afford to take part isn't that more money down the drain? We're already $20min down and that was from the wasted tender process alone. So low uptake, even with the free installs was because the area where the trial is taking place, the residents can't afford to take part? Something isn't right here. Either NBNCo/ALP made another massively costly mistake or choosing Tassie as the trial location for the NBN was in the best interests of the ALP and winning the state election instead of people, again.
AkiraDoe Jun 15, 2010 11:21 PM	$20mil*
sav Jun 16, 2010 12:14 AM	Poorly researched story - repeating a misleading Conroy number. His almost 50% actually refers to the free fiber termination unit that the NBN offered to all the trial households. This unit will allow a future retail connection - but doesn't mean that they actually will connect to the NBN now or in the future. I'm surprised more didn't take up the offer, given a household may have to pay in future to have this unit installed if not done as part of the rollout.
BrettWinterford Jun 16, 2010 6:16 AM	@sav - one would expect a reasonable number of those households that choose to have a piece of equipment nailed to the side of their house are somewhat interested in fibre broadband services - at least before 2023.
sav Jun 16, 2010 7:23 AM	@Brett, yes perhaps - but it's pure spin to say that 50% of people have signed for fibre services at the current time. It's more honest to say that 50% of eligible dwellings in the pilot area have elected to allow the NBN to install the freely offered termination unit. How many of these go on to order a retail service is the more important number from an NBN viability perspective. Even then this pilot won't give us good information (at least quickly) on likely uptake - NBN have already announced a zero monthly wholesale access cost until at least July 2010. I like the NBN concept - I don't like politicians twisting and mis-representing data.
sav Jun 16, 2010 7:40 AM	Oops - should have read "zero monthly wholesale access cost until at least July 2011"
sydneyla Jun 16, 2010 7:40 AM	If someone offered me a free install of equipment without obligation to give the option of future service provision of course I would accept it. Having said that I would need convincing that I would receive superior service at a cheaper cost before I considered leaving my present supplier. As in the past, I still believe that the Rudd/Conroy NBN proposal will be the straw that breaks the camels back and sees the Rudd Government driven from Office at the next election. If the blackmail of Telstra continues, then Telstra must join the mining industry to educate Australians of the stand-over tactics of Rudd and Conroy.
umbria Jun 16, 2010 10:19 AM	Tasmanians are a conservative lot (like my wife's mum) but $30 for 25 Mbps plus $10 or less for all phone calls certainly beats $27.95 line rental, plus $30-50 for calls to Tassie and the mainland, plus a dialup web account. Sure sounds like "superior service at a cheaper cost", eh, SydneyLa? Even when the pilot honeymoon ends and the fibre costs $50, they'll all be glad they signed up.
Tom Brown Jun 16, 2010 12:20 PM	I refer to Brett Winterford's editorial in ITNews about Conroy's statement. Brett, how do you equate what some private concern may do here with what BT Telecom is doing in London, who is holding their hands up here? If you mean our incumbent who seems only to be interested in disrupting everything that is not or potentially not part of their monopoly. And of course BT are not doing it for their regional areas, is anyone else? And there appears several providers who are happy to be part of the NBN and to provide add-on services based on the infrastructure as per Liz Tay's report above. Unfortunately when the next liberal government get in they will probably see a need to tighten everyone elses belts to save money and the benefits and the NBN will be lost to the highest bidder, probably Telstra.
BrettWinterford Jun 16, 2010 4:03 PM	@Tom Brown - I merely noted it was interesting to see what competition was providing in London without taxpayer funding. I would argue that in many metropolitan areas today, Telstra isn't competitive with smaller ISPs who continue to invest in enhancements to DSL technologies and offer better prices. But step outside the cities and we most certainly need Government assistance. A simple observation - didn't mean it to get so political. Maybe you should be a journalist? :)