news The National Broadband Network Company has updated its dynamic rollout map with details of thousands of new premises where construction contracts have been signed, giving Australians a great deal more certainty about whether their premise will be included in the company’s next round of Fibre to the Premises broadband deployment.
In late October, NBN Co radically altered its network rollout map. Many areas around Australia which had been marked to receive new broadband infrastructure over the next several years had their areas removed from the map. You can see the map online here.
The changes took place because NBN Co changed its metrics. Previously, NBN Co had used a metric which referred to the fact that initial work on designing its rollout in certain areas had commenced. This included, in many cases, work on paper that took place in office environments, despite the fact that no actual construction work in the field had actually started. However, the the new Coalition Government changed this measurement and is now only measuring areas where construction crews in streets have been instructed to actually start deploying infrastructure, as well as areas where services are available.
“The maps will be updated when further areas enter the building stage and the shape of the rollout becomes clearer following the completion of the Strategic Review into the NBN,” said NBN Co in October, reflecting the fact that much of the future of the rollout was at that stage up in the air, pending the outcome of that review.
This morning, several months after the Strategic Review was published, the Office of Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull alerted journalists that NBN Co’s rollout map had undergone a major update to reflect new areas where construction activity has commenced.
Although the new Coalition Government is pursuing a so-called ‘Multi-Technology Mix’ approach to the project, which will drastically modify Labor’s initial NBN approach by adding Fibre to the Node and HFC cable options to the broadband mix (in a deployment being called the Coalition’s Broadband Network or CBN), work on Labor’s existing FTTP model is still progressing until the MTM model can be finalised.
Shortly after the September election, new Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull instructed NB Co to complete construction of the FTTP network to some 300,000 premises where construction had already begun using the all-fibre FTTP model favoured by the previous Labor Federal Government.
At the time, the two ministers noted that detailed network design was underway in areas containing a further 645,000 premises, and that in geographic areas where NBN Co was in a position to hand over final designs to construction partners, some of those sites may also see construction work begin “shortly”. In November, Turnbull added another 150,000 premises to the list.
This morning’s update will be the first of many, with Turnbull’s office signalling today that the maps would now be updated on a month by month basis. The areas where the CBN build has commenced are shown in brown, while those areas where NBN Co’s broadband service is available are shown in purple. A total of 24,741 new premises have been added to the maps, as in the table below:
Overall, the changes to NBN Co’s maps have not gone down well. In November, the Labor Opposition claimed it was being inundated by “countless” complaints by Australians alarmed after the new Coalition Government ‘wiped them off the NBN rollout map’ with “no apology and no real explanation”. ““There was no warning. No apology and no real explanation from the Government and what’s going to happen next,” said Member for Throsby Stephen Jones at the time.
Australians have continually signalled over the past several years that they prefer Labor’s FTTP-based NBN policy over the Coalition’s less ambitious vision, which also incorporates Fibre to the Node- and HFC cable-based rollout styles.
Following the Federal Election, evidence has grown of a groundswell of popular opinion supporting Labor’s FTTP-based NBN model. In early September, an online petition on the issue garnered more than 260,000 signatures. The petition in general was rejected by Turnbull, but it continues to be cited by commentators as a key indicator of the popularity of Labor’s NBN vision.
opinion/analysis
Good to see some more transparency from the Coalition and NBN Co on premises under construction. I’ve been receiving emails for months now from readers informing me that they are seeing construction work in their streets, but that their area isn’t listed at all on NBN Co’s rollout maps.
Image credit: NBN Co
Well, ain’t that strange… proof that the Minister really doesn’t know what’s happening.
1) the map was updated last Friday morning, 9:00am… not today
2) the map updates have been occurring monthly since Malcolm’s announcements of the additional 150k premises. A total of 29 FSAMs have already been added since December, yet he’s praising it as a “new move”
Whoops…
I live in the ACT and am having a house built. Where it is located is in the TransACT FTTP rollout area.
On the old maps, this was a hole in a sea of Available/Building commenced. But now it’s all “Available”.
Anyone have any idea what’s changed?
Because starting 11th March, the TransACT began its integration with NBN’s FTTP network after its acquisition:
http://www.zdnet.com/au/nbn-co-to-count-on-transact-fibre-for-quick-win-7000026393/
Thanks for the link. I kinda need to stay on top of the news a bit better ;)
Transparency? Don’t make me laugh. It’s all been hidden for yonks.
I don’t suppose they plan to colour-grade the different varieties of infrastructure do they? If all they’re planning to have is “Fixed Line” and “Fixed Wireless”, then that’s pretty damn ambiguous. I think people will have a right to know exactly what technology their house is connected to (or will be connected to), be it FTTH, FTTB, FTTN or HFC. I already know I’ll get HFC because the Telstra cable runs right past my house. I haven’t had it installed because I don’t feel like paying ~$500 to have it hooked up, plus another ~$100 a month to run it when it’s more than possible the service will be less reliable than my 4.5mbit ADSL2 connection.
We already have “fixed line” so yes, we need to know exactly what technology is being used. I refuse anything less than full fiber.
Haven’t you heard? Copper is just as good as fibre, so fixed line is all you need to know. Malcolm Turnbull and Ziggy Switkowski said so.
Gotta Luv Ziggy’s Good Copper that in our area after some wet weather & according to our ISP has lost all ADSL due to a “Mass Service Disruption Expected to Last for Several Weeks” & has me posting this on dial-up once I dug out an old XP box complete with a still working modem from the back shed.
Running at around 5KB/s it’s taking up to 5 minutes for a web page to load, lol.
Meh still no where near any colours :(
I see they haven’t updated their FAQ yet, still “Frequently asked questions – Fibre to the premises” and nothing to do with nodes.
My family’s house was in the original rollout as having construction commenced Feb 2014. Since the change of government that disappeared and now there has been no update.
Looks like wimax (vividwireless) for the foreseeable future since there is no ADSL there at all…so depressing.
Bit disappointing, in SE Melbourne all they seemed to have done is added back in areas they had removed that were already under construction (really under construction, not just planned
None the those areas that I had seem with preperation work being done have enter “in build”, they just seem to be not going ahead.
Man – construction was suppose to start in like march last year for me – but I’m still not on the map. I thought the rollout was suppose to be faster under the coalition.
A few months ago there were a few ditch-witches on my street – they dug a few holes, drilled at un-godly hours – disspeared for a while…. and then the holes were filled in… so dont know what that is about.
Could be worse…
Construction already began around my area with my area set to have a RFS of Feb/March. My block was conveniently dropped from the map. And I’ve resigned myself to putting up w/ the blinding speeds of ADSL1 for another 10-20 years or so.
Is this how going to be quicker ? spoon fed.
I was due to have my FTTP in January.. My entire area (and 3 around it) has been taken off the map and still hasn’t been put back on :(.
Meh, I gave up majority getting anything highspeed under this gov.
This is going to be very sh!t few years.
well, I was supposed to be rfs October last year. since the election was in September, I can only really say the labor nbn was full of crap since they haven’t even started work In my area. yet im still on the map for rfs august this year now
cant blame liberals, since it was supposed to be rfs one month after the election. The maps were bogus before the election. the only thing that happened was nbnco got told to make them realistic.
@ Guest – At least the map previously gave you some idea of how long it would take and you knew what technology you were going to get. Yea its kinda sh!t simply adding the “how far they are behind” time to the estimated build commencement & RFS dates but it is better than not being told a thing – two years out from when this govt. promised we were all to have at least 25mbps.
…. (I mean 25mbps capability – kinda like how we have 24mbps capability on copper)
JJJ, your original post stated you were slated for March last year.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t that quite a few months before the fed election?
I’m not a fan of how MT is doing things, but honestly, staining a virtual map with a promise that isn’t going to be fulfilled is less use than only updating when there’s something worth updating.
If you bought in to the ALP promise of “soon”, why do you have problems with the LNP’s promise of “sooner and better”? They’re both lies.
There were 4 construction commencement dates for my area as it was divided into four parts- between March and August (I think) last year.
In my opinion – even if they are off by 6 months to a year – the ball park figure of “within a year (or 2)”
is better than
“there is no activity in your area but in the mean time keep checking back for updates”…which is pretty much what rollout map now says for me (paraphrasing a little).
Sure – I am only assuming that progress in my area was further slowed, even halted, because of the change of government and change of plans – but if that is the case then yes – rather then getting anything faster as promised by Turnbull, it will be later rather than “sooner”… which is all my point was.
I just announce wireless for my out side of my rural town.
I just move into a house that was finish last year, on a subdivision that was done in 2009.
Saw the copper being laid for it when I moved in to an adsl1 node 200m up the road.
Was getting a max 6Mbps a soon as it rains drops to .5Mbps
So far 2 days after the last rain getting a max speed of 1.3Mbps.
Been thinking if I can hook into the wireless because my copper is a utter disgrace and its less than a year old and I cant see I will get any better with FTTN
I love the fact that the original real NBN was actually laying fibre in our street and then Woodcroft was removed from Turnbull’s “new” NBN map. So we actually have fibre in the ground but magically we are removed from the rollout.
http://www.edhusic.com/yet_another_coalition_lie_this_time_on_the_nbn
My suburb is still not in the rollout and there’s blackspots all around me.
BUT, I did find out that when I move to Cairns, I’ll have FTTP. Suck it city losers :P
My area (East Maitland and surrounding suburbs, NSW) *had* an RFS of January ’14 before the election. There was some activity in the first half of last year digging up streets and laying conduit, even pulling fibre, but this all stopped at the announcement of the strategic review.
Since January the activity has been ramping back up and every day I see contractors (including Telstra) in different parts of mine and adjoining suburbs working on the pits. I’m very surprised to see my area hasn’t been added to this updated list.
I’m off Lawes Street – to the uninitiated, the ‘main drag’ through East Maitland – and after watching workers dig up the place thought fiber would be an option to us by now, based on the Holy Gospel of NBNCo over the past two years and their ‘projections’. There have been so many liars and halfwit bureaucrats in NBNCo, regardless of whether Labor or Liberal are running the thing. Sadly, this will go on for years through changes of government, with the blame game and buck-passing putting a handbrake on getting the infrastructure built…
I notice the language of the connection types has been subtly changed, from fibre optic to “Fixed line”, how very devious indeed.
I got an ADSL 1 fixed line – FTW!
And its obvious to everyone that the regions of the country suffering with poor quality telecommunications infrastructure that they’re last on the list. By all means bring fast internet to the masses, but NBNCo. and the Federal Government have no excuses when they are asked why those who have missed out for years on end will be made to wait again…
The maps are bogus, as they do not distinguish between fixed wireless and fix line. I’m guessing this will leave the way open for fixed wireless to replace fixed line infrastructure.
mean while salisurbury parafeild gardens have crappy inter shite phonlines yet were left last if not at all call this high speed internet 5mbs cant play any decent games and were called the lucky country yere right while over seas has 120mbs plus
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