Coalition hedges fast broadband bet on IT evolution

By Ry Crozier on Aug 10, 2010 2:30 PM
Filed under Telco/ISP

Together with quarantined spectrum.

The Coalition plans to bank on "evolving technology" to see broadband speeds on its "patchwork" NBN increase beyond the quoted minimum of 12 Mbps peak, according to the shadow communications leader.

The Liberal-National Party unveiled its long-awaited NBN plan earlier today, in which it would roll out a "second lane" backhaul network, subsidise wireless networks and "optimise" existing DSL networks.

It would leave the market to roll out broadband to the "last mile" and determine what speeds Australians will be able to access internet services in the future.

Opposition Communications Minister Tony Smith acknowledged at the ICT Leaders Debate in Canberra that the Coalition was aware that actual user speeds on wireless networks were a fraction of quoted peak speeds.

"We are saying 12 Mbps [peak] is the minimum floor," Smith said.

"This is technology that's improving and evolving all the time. We've said 12 Mbps peak speeds quite deliberately. We're not overpromising."

Greens Senator Scott Ludlam warned that the Coalition's plan would mean Australians "end up with a patchwork of service delivery across the country that's going to entrench the digital divide."

"Like the rest of the room we've only had five minutes to analyse [the Coalition plan]," Ludlam said.

"It looks like they've cherry-picked a couple of good ideas out of the [NBN] Implementation Study."

And Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said the Coalition's proposal would offer Australians a "second rate" solution.

"We're trying to give the country a gold standard," Conroy said.

"The Gillard Government has a vision for where we want to take this country. We want to build a ubiquitous NBN to improve broadband access for every single Australian."

Hammered on spectrum

Conroy took the Coalition to task over its "baseline" wireless proposal, constantly interrupting Smith to ask where he was going to get the spectrum to make his a proposal a reality.

"What spectrum are you going to use for that, Tony?" Conroy said.

"How are you going to deliver 12 Mbps and in what spectrum? How many mobile phone towers are you going to build?"

Conroy offered to bring Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) chairman Chris Chapman into the discussion to correct the Coalition's spectrum assumptions.

Smith responded that a Coalition Government would have a "proactive policy for spectrum".

"Spectrum is tradeable," he said. "If need be, we will quarantine a portion of spectrum to ensure our policy can be delivered."

Smith said the Coalition would rely at least partly on the "digital dividend" - spectrum to be reclaimed from analogue TV when it is switched off in 2013.

But that would mean Australians would have to wait until at least 2014 to get the 12 Mbps peak baseline speeds promised by the Coalition today.

Coalition hedges fast broadband bet on IT evolution

4 comments in this discussion

"@MerariSchroeder, Exactly, metro areas are the "most" economic. The rest of the country would be $hit out of luck. The NBN won't go bust if the government is paying for it (aka taxpayers). ..."

By mikeyx11

Tags

election10, coalition, tony, smith, nbnco, nbn, broadband, policy, opel, wireless, spectrum

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Comments: 4

MerariSchroeder Aug 11, 2010 9:16 AM	@Ludlam "entrench the digital divide" - what the heck? Having no policy might, but even then regular market forces will continue to roll out more and faster services - it's been happening for years. Since the NBN plan came along, several politicians must think it was a federal Government who, rolled out dial-up, then ADSL, then ADSL2+, and EVDO and HSPDA, and Cable and HFC, and terrestrial wireless, and dark fibre. Of course it wasn't, it was private industry, and they'll continue to improve communication. Why does a spectrum of technology "entrench"? It doesn't, what it does, is give consumers choice and power. They choose the best technology for their needs and budget. Many today even use fibre because it suits their needs and budget.
scooter Aug 11, 2010 1:14 PM	@MerariSchroeder I think you are missing the point. It will only ever be economic to roll out high speed (whatever that may be at a given point in time) services to metro areas so those services will not be available in the country and in some cases even outer metro areas. Alright if you in the inner city but garbage if you live in the 'country'. Also the spectrum they are talking about is radio spectrum used in the delivery of wireless services. If you are happy with business continuing to deliver services years behind the rest of the world then stick with the Coalition plan. I, for one, would like to see Australia at the leading edge with all the advantages that would bring. A fibre network is also easily upgradeable to terabytes per second, try that on even HFC networks and see how far you get. The NBN will ensure an almost universal high speed network for ALL Australians, not just the lucky few.
MerariSchroeder Aug 12, 2010 5:26 PM	"It will only ever be economic to roll out high speed (whatever that may be at a given point in time) services to metro areas" Actually: 1. Metro areas are the most economic. 2. Technologies continued to be developed to make FTTP cheaper to deploy - such as micro trenching. 3. Let's say $43bn for 100Mbps FTTP = $100/mo, attracting 50% of customers. Compared to: $15bn for 100Mbps FTTN = $25/mo, attracting 100% of customers. Lower capital = Lower Repayments = Lower Monthly Costs = More Customers = Lower Monthly Costs or Faster repayment. When the FTTN is payed off in <10years. Then upgrade to FTTH for less than $28bn. Which again equates to lower monthly costs and higher take up. "The NBN will ensure an almost universal high speed network for ALL Australians" Not when it goes bust.
mikeyx11 Aug 16, 2010 11:33 PM	@MerariSchroeder, Exactly, metro areas are the "most" economic. The rest of the country would be $hit out of luck. The NBN won't go bust if the government is paying for it (aka taxpayers). Basically what you are saying, is it would take a few years to roll out FTTN, a few years for it to pay itself off, then another few years to upgrade to FTTP. By that time, say 2025, the rest of the world will be sitting at 1Gbps as standard (if not much more than that), while we will still be replacing our 75yo+ copper lines... If you are unable to learn from the past then you shouldn't talk like you know what's good for the future. The reason that we need the NBN is because private enterprises think exactly like you. It's all about money, not strong economic development and competition, improved education, improved healthcare, higher living standards etc...