http://thenewdaily.com.au/life/tech/2017/08/30/local-council-nbn-fttc-precedent/
A reasonable start, but not what I'd call a win. If nbn™ runs true to
form, then the network won't support upgrading to FttP at full capacity
(>1 Gb/s). I can't find anything on FttC in the current design rules. If
anyone can point me in the right direction, I'd be grateful.
In the absence of federal government action, a local council has taken
matters into its own hands and negotiated directly with NBN Co to
successfully secure superior fibre connections.
In what has been a major win for the Bellingen Shire community in New
South Wales, homes and businesses initially designated to receive
fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) will now receive fibre-to-the-curb (FTTC)
technology.
This could set a precedent for other councils across Australia to also
advocate for faster, more reliable internet connections as the
remainder of the National Broadband Network (NBN) is rolled out.
With a population of 12,600, residents and local businesses in the
Bellingen region south-west of Coffs Harbour argued that the inferior
FTTN could adversely affect property prices and was “not a long-term,
technologically sustainable option”.
Senior NBN Co representatives attended meetings in late June with
Bellingen Shire council staff, local chamber of commerce members,
Telstra and a policy adviser to Shadow Communications Minister
Michelle Rowland.
NBN Co subsequently announced that the FTTN-designated segment of the
shire’s network would be switched over to FTTC. However, some areas of
the shire remain pegged for fixed wireless rather than the preferred
fibre connection.
Jason Errey, 44, who lives and works in Bellingen for an ocean and
environmental management business, played a major role in advocating
to council to instigate the change.
“NBN basically got laughed out the building,” Mr Errey said,
describing one of the meetings.
“My business is sitting on the cutting edge of technology. It is all
about communicating our ideas and the more I can interact with
engineers and the banks and everyone else, the higher the chance of
being able to sell our technology.
“The only way I can do that is with the NBN. But 10 Mbps speeds … I
can’t work with that.”
Bellingen Shire councillors voted unanimously for a “fair and
equitable” deployment of NBN services across the shire, demanding FTTC
“as a minimum”.
The council is continuing to lobby state and federal politicians for
the best possible outcome, and has called on other NSW councils to do
the same.
Is this precedent for local councils to upgrade their NBN?
Bellingen mayor Dominic King said councils can play an important role
in pushing for better NBN outcomes in their communities.
“This is what happens when a community stands up and makes its voice
heard,” Mr King said.
“It is really important that councils actively advocate on behalf of
their communities and the outcomes that a small council has been able
to achieve for its community is an absolute testament to that.
“Council’s preference was full-fibre [FTTP] because it is faster and
more reliable … but FTTC [a low-cost fibre alternative] is a good
outcome.”
RMIT University’s Mark Gregory, an associate professor in network
engineering, told The New Daily that Bellingen’s success could open
the floodgates for further wins at the local level.
“This is a win for common sense and demonstrates that councils and
state governments need to get more involved to prevent their
constituents being left behind with obsolete technologies being used,”
Assoc Prof Gregory said.
Shadow Communications Minister Ms Rowland told The New Daily the door
had been opened for other councils to pressure NBN to upgrade the
rollout intended for their area.
Labor announced a major campaign on Wednesday, pressuring the
government to scrap fibre-to-the-node and instead expand its
fibre-to-the-curb rollout.
NBN Co downplayed Bellingen Shire Council’s win, denying it had been
successful in changing the rollout across its shire.
“These changes were due to standard planning and design process,” a
NBN Co spokesman said.
“In the case of Bellingen Shire, the planning and design work was not
finalised when the decision was made to build FTTC. There was no cost
to NBN in moving technology.
“FTTC was decided as the most appropriate access technology for the
community following analysis of [various] factors.”
--
David Boxall | Australia's problem isn't fake news,
| it's fake government.
http://david.boxall.id.au | --Ross Gittins
Sydney Morning Herald 27 March 2017
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