The nation’s biggest telco Telstra has denied that several ADSL broadband upgrades in several Tasmanian towns had anything to do with the lack of immediate plans for National Broadband Network fibre to be rolled out in the areas concerned.
Yesterday the telco announced that the towns of Bridport and Dilston north of Launceston would receive new ADSL infrastructure in their telephone exchanges that would allow broadband-starved local businesses and residents access to the ADSL2+ speeds enjoyed by much of the rest of the country.
The news came after a steadfast campaign by community activists in the area around Dilston to get their town included in the list of Tasmanian locations to eventually be covered by the NBN’s optical fibre rollout. At the moment, NBN Co’s coverage listing shows the town as being scheduled to receive a fixed wireless service instead, which is considered inferior to the fibre cables – and which many also consider inferior to ADSL2+ broadband services.
For its part, Bridport is scheduled to receive fibre, but it is unclear when, as the town has not been listed in any of the early stage rollout locations for the NBN.
However, in a brief interview this morning, Telstra Country Wide general manager for Northern Tasmania, Michael Patterson, said Telstra’s decision to roll out ADSL infrastructure in the towns didn’t relate to the NBN plans.
“It’s just our normal business planning,” he said, noting that Telstra upgraded its network when it saw sufficient demand from customers in the region. He said that Telstra was “obviously” aware of where the NBN was going to be rolled out in Tasmania – as it was trialling the NBN services in early stage rollout zones – but the rollout of its ADSL infrastructure was “separate” and based on demand.
Patterson said wasn’t aware about whether Telstra planned to upgrade other exchanges in the area, but said the telco would allocate its capital efficiently – “where demand exists, we’ll expand the technology,” he said. “There are areas obviously where eople would like infrastructure, where no infrastructure exists,” he said. “We seek to meet that demand – sometimes with fixed, sometimes it’s with mobile.”
The executive noted Telstra was also expanding its Next G mobile network across Tasmania – seeing to maintain “coverage supremacy” over competitors Vodafone and Optus. “We have a rollout schedule of new towers across the state of Tasmania, to ensure we maintain that coverage gap,” he said, noting the company was investing “something like $3 million a week” in infrastructure in Tasmania – “significant capex and opex budgets” to maintain the company’s significant footprint in the state.
Some of the Dilston activists have, however, expressed concern about mobile coverage – for example, noting that signal was “notoriously bad” in the area, with drop-out problems abounding, and many in the region dreading the NBN’s proposed wireless solution.
Image credit: Delimiter screenshot of Google Maps
The last Telstra ADSL Wholesale ports report says that both Bridport and Dilston is pretty much out of ADSL1 ports. So its not really an ADSL1 to ADSL2 upgrade.. Its an upgrade for extra customers.
Makes a lot economic sense when NBN is not due to arrive anytime soon for those particular towns.
I wonder whether Telstra would have upgraded it’s ADSL infrastructure if the NBN wasn’t coming along in the future? I think we all know the answer to that one.
Don’t you think the taxpayer funded NBN rollout with its taxpayer subsidised free pricing can compete with ISP ADSL2+ Plans out of Telstra exchanges?
If it cannot it says more about the viability of the NBN than anything Telstra does.
@alain, since you haven’t stopped whinging and whining about the “taxpayer subsidised free connection”, I hope you will put your money where your mouth is, when the NBN is connecting in your street, and either refuse connection all together or at least pay for yours…?
Otherwise your words are somewhat empty, meaningless and hypocritical…imo!
@alain The question is, can Telstra compete with the NBN. Telstra chose NOT to take any of the suggested options detailed in the legislation where they could have competed against the NBN, namely, setting up a completely seperate company. They could have even preserved shareholder equity via a share split. They didn’t, they decided to do a deal with the NBN and switch their customer traffic over. So your question is moot. Telstra CHOSE not to compete, they CHOSE to transfer. The ADSL rollout for Telstra in Tassie is a simple grab for customers before they transfer them to the NBN anyway.
What legislation and what separate company would have enabled Telstra to compete with the NBN – what are you on about??
The switch over of the Telstra traffic is not and dusted the Telstra Directors have not even got a proposal to put to the shareholders for approval yet.
“The ADSL rollout for Telstra in Tassie is a simple grab for customers before they transfer them to the NBN anyway.”
Well they might not all be Telstra (BigPond) customers, it is also a grab for customers by all ISP’s reselling TW ADSL2+, but then I suppose that’s a different sort of ‘grab’ which is ok.
Suggest you read the seperation legislation that’s being debated sunshine. Best to educate yourself before sounding off.
“The switch over of the Telstra traffic is not and dusted the Telstra Directors have not even got a proposal to put to the shareholders for approval yet”
And? You crying wolf again?
“Well they might not all be Telstra (BigPond) customers, it is also a grab for customers by all ISP’s reselling TW ADSL2+, but then I suppose that’s a different sort of ‘grab’ which is ok”
Classic, don’t address my point, just come up with some misdirection to other ISP’s. Read the title of this article. It says Telstra. Do you honestly think that Telstra’s investment in a state that was neglected by them for so long isn’t partly a response to the trial of the NBN?
Oh now so it’s ‘legislation being debated’ , you still avoided the question of how the impending structural separation of Telstra enables them to compete with the NBN anyway.
Just talking rubbish prefaced by throwaway lines like ‘best to educate yourself’ doesn’t compensate for the complete absence of facts.
“And? You crying wolf again?”
Err that’s all fact, crying wolf over what?
It’s not a ‘misdirection to other ISP’s ‘ it is fact, all TW resellers can take advantage of the increased ADSL2+ footprint, if it is a Telstra grab for customers prior to the NBN rollout it is a grab by all ISP’s who get customers prior to the NBN rollout because those exchanges were enabled by Telstra.
Of course you don’t mention that any ISP/Telco that has rolled out DSLAM’s in the past could have enabled those Tassie exchanges, but then only Telstra has ‘neglected’ that state, if others neglect that area of Tassie and they have that’s ok.
“you still avoided the question of how the impending structural separation of Telstra enables them to compete with the NBN anyway.”
Not in the slightest. I actually told you that Telstra aren’t even trying to compete, hence the 11 billion deal. Telstra have chosen NOT to compete, despite having an option to if they desired. Try to keep up.
“Just talking rubbish prefaced by throwaway lines like ‘best to educate yourself’ doesn’t compensate for the complete absence of facts.”
Then you haven’t read the legislation have you. I suggest you do if you want to talk facts.
“Of course you don’t mention that any ISP/Telco that has rolled out DSLAM’s in the past could have enabled those Tassie exchanges, but then only Telstra has ‘neglected’ that state, if others neglect that area of Tassie and they have that’s ok.”
And for the facts on this, I suggest you read up, specifically, Paul Fletcher’s book, Wired Brown Land, which takes this old example that you’ve trotted out i.e. Telstra isn’t stopping others from investing and pokes holes a mile wide in it.
@ alain, YOU accusing other people of avoiding questions is laughable…
So AGAIN, here’s my question to you… and if you aren’t a hypocrite … this time (after my previous, two dozen attempts since before Xmas) YOU will finally answer. Or of course prove your hypocrisy beyond doubt…
You said…
1. You betcha the NBN will be a success that’s how monopolies work…
But one week to the day later YOU said
2. The NBN will fail like HFC before it…
Please explain how both of your claims can be correct and to avoid being labelled a hypocrite, please do not avoid the question YET AGAIN…!
Well Telstra has definitely lost the “coverage supremacy” on the East Coast of Tasmania. Last week I was in Spring Beach Orford in a reasonably built up area and my iPhone 4 on Telstra could not get any coverage and my Telstra NextG Ultimate also couldn’t get any coverage. The killer was that my wife’s iPhone 4 on Optus had 2 bars and basically full coverage for data and voice!
Better pick your game up Telstra. Optus is catching and has maybe overtaken you already for “coverage supremacy” as you put it.
Given that ADSL2+ and NextG coverage aren’t related in the slightest I’m not sure how precisely this relates?
i live in Bridport. before Telstra did this fix, i was getting days of 0.2Mbps down, 0.32Mbps up. so slow that i’d crack the shits and tether my phone for a better connection. getting 7Mbps Down, 0.32Mbps up now.
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