NBN Hypothetical Questionnaire #001

[Hubert CumberdaleParticipant]

Scenario: The coalition of clowns win the next election, they halt the proper NBN build and implement their gimped version with FttN covering ~90% of premises (hypothetical). Nodes are capable of FttP with fibre installation cost paid by users who want it.

Do you think:

A) That cost should be individualized, that is the distance from the node dictates the cost with those closer to a node paying less than those further from the node.

B) That the cost should be the same regardless of distance with premises living closer to the node effectively subsidizing those living further from the node.

Do you think bulk discounts should be given to syndicates of premises that opt to upgrade at the same time who are attached to the same node?

A) Yes
B) No

Do you think premises that opt for this FttP scheme should pay more for their monthly subscription as they are getting more speed even though they’ve already paid fibre installation costs?

A) Yes
B) No

For premises not opting for FttP and staying on FttN should they be given discounts if they are further from a node due to not receiving the same speeds as those closer to a node?

A) Yes
B) No
C) Depends on how much less speed

Would you support a system where your ISP pays the cost of upgrading your premise to fibre and then is paid by users via an additional fee on their monthly subscription?

A) Yes
B) No

[quinkParticipant]

How about not charging anything extra?

NBN Co does FTTH 50/20 Mbps for $34 wholesale and that includes a subsidy for regional users and phone service. It will stay at $34 for the next five years and increase less than CPI after that. If it’s provided through an MSAN, then that’ll go up.

Telstra Wholesale for phone is $25 alone. It’s pretty obvious that it won’t stay at $25. Once you add the cost of providing the node and VDSL and whatever an NBN Co would charge on top of that, it comes close to that, if not exceeds that $34.

Frankly, ISPs should be paying people to switch to fibre. Not the first 10% or 20% who’d switch to FTTH, but definitely after that.

> Do you think bulk discounts should be given to syndicates of premises that opt to upgrade at the same time who are attached to the same node?

Sure, but that sounds like the most awful thing ever. It’ll never get done that way. Running around the neighbourhood asking people to fork out $1000 when they’re not even sure of the benefits. Rather subsume construction costs into lower running costs and cross-subsidation. The way to do it is to offer a better product for a cheaper price than you’re currently having with what’s out there – which is ADSL. And neither VDSL (in areas not extremely dense) nor FTTH over MSANs (when switching from VDSL) can match both criteria in making that switch. Only FTTH has proven to do that.

[KarlParticipant]

C, MT should pay for it out of his pocket, else B.
A
B
A
A

[Author]

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