news The NBN company has rejected claims by Singaporean telco MyRepublic that the fledgling Fibre to the Node component of its network rollout is “shit”, stating instead that the rollout mechanism delivers “excellent” speeds to Australians.
This morning MyRepublic CEO Malcolm Rodrigues — which is on the cusp of launching in Australia — reportedly told Fairfax Media that the FTTN component of the Coalition’s Multi-Technology Mix version of the NBN was “shit” and that the current Coalition Government had “completely stuffed it” in terms of its policy model for the NBN.
MyRepublic provides its services in Singapore and New Zealand primarily over the all-fibre networks that those countries are currently rolling out, based on the Fibre to the Premises architecture. This is the same architecture that Labor’s previous version of the NBN used. However, the Coalition has significantly modified this model to incorporate in some areas the technically inferior Fibre to the Node and HFC cable models — which do not deploy fibre broadband all the way to homes and business premises.
However, the NBN company itself issued its own statement in response to Rodrigues’ claims.
“It is very unfortunate to see the NBN FTTN network being criticised for its performance before it has even launched commercial services and shown its capabilities,” the company said.
“The FTTN trials taking place in Belmont, NSW, have shown extremely encouraging results, with excellent speeds being delivered to end-users, with even premises located on longer copper lines getting very good speeds – far beyond what is available to most Australians today.”
“Deploying FTTN from September onwards will enable nbn to deliver improved broadband to millions of Australians more quickly than we would be able to with other technologies. Moreover, it is also worth remembering that at present over 80% of nbn subs are choosing either 12/1 or 25/5 services.”
opinion/analysis
I’d like to make three comments in relation to the NBN company’s comments.
Firstly, the company is technically correct. I’m on TransACT’s FTTN network in Canberra, and the speeds here are very good by Australian standards. I’m getting 65Mbps and that is quite a good speed for our household’s needs. We watch a lot of Netflix, ABC iView and so on, and download more than 100GB of data per month. I’m quite happy at the moment.
Secondly, Singapore and New Zealand are much — much! — smaller countries than Australia. Deploying fibre around those geographies is a much easier task than doing the same in our fair land.
However, I will also note that the NBN is not being built for this decade or even for the next decade — it is being built for the next 50 to 100 years. FTTN is sufficient for my household’s bandwidth requirements now, but my and our bandwidth requirements have increased every year for the past two decades, and I don’t see that trend slowing down any time soon.
Eventually, there is no doubt that all fixed telecommunications networks will trend towards fibre. Australia can be dragged kicking and screaming towards that future, or it can get ahead and reap the rewards and competitive advantages that such a rollout would bring. Other countries such as Singapore and New Zealand are already doing so, and it would be foolhardy to pretend that they are not competing with Australian industry by doing so.
I would curther caution the NBN company not to step outside its role in defending the Coalition’s Multi-Technology Mix model, and its controversial HFC cable and FTTN aspects, too far.
There has been significant comment about the NBN company’s singleminded defence of the Coalition’s MTM policy over the past few months, which some feel has stepped over the line into political commentary. I would encourage the company’s spokespeople to remember that it is the role of political representatives to set and defend policy — not government business enterprises such as the NBN company.
The NBN company must walk a fine line between supporting its shareholder Minister and the policy of the day, while also remembering that tomorrow it may answer to a completely different Minister and a completely different Government. There is no doubt that the NBN company’s previous management under Mike Quigley struggled with that issue at times. But I think he was able to present a more objective and independent impression than we are seeing from the company’s curent management.
I would also encourage the NBN company to remember that MyRepublic is a likely future customer of its services — and that it should seek to establish a good relationship with the company.
Image credit: The NBN company
I’ve bolded the bit that imo highlights the number #1 item that is wrong with FTTN – bandwidth inequality!!!
At least on HFC you might get the speeds you pay for if the network is designed properly with enough backhaul and low enough contention ratios!
Yes this is one of the saddest things about the whole situation. I share a house with two Singaporean guys who were pretty shocked when I explained to them that there’s simply no way for me to pay for a service with a higher speed.
I think he was even more shocked when I explained that there’s no way to find out the speed at a house you want to move into before you move in and activate the service, and that there’s very little you can do beyond paying tens of thousands of dollars to lay fibre to your property.
Of course, being one of the new serf class I am beholden to my landlord and forever in his debt for allowing me to pay through the nose for renting his property. And I simply don’t have the money to lay fibre to the new rental property every time the owner decides he wants to sell and turfs me out at the end of my contract. Sigh…
Well said in the opinion.
I’m really not sure what GimpCo was expecting. Are they really this oblivious? Everyone has been criticising FttN for years already. Those criticisms are not going to stop anytime soon either. They can defend it all they like but somehow I don’t think many will buy what they are saying.
Its all good they’ve got that nice list of countries rolling out FTTN to back them ….. wait a minute …. I do believe those have all switched over to fibre!
I’m waiting for the movie version “NBN’s most “excellent” adventure”…
Except that TransACTs FTTN network isn’t over Telstra copper, it’s over copper that they themselves laid, and I believe is higher guage than Telstra’s awesome 0.4mm copper.
Spelling error “I would > curther < caution the NBN company".
I have seen several statements from NBN Co today saying FTTN will provide “very good speeds” or “extremely encouraging results” etc without actually saying what the speeds they are getting are. In the face of criticism of its speeds the best NBN Co can come back with, even at this late stage in their testing, is motherhood statements. Why cant they quote specific speeds? Why cant they say what people can expect at given distances from the exchange? They should know these figures by now, and they should be singing them from the rooftops, if they really are so proud of what they are rolling out.
My republic is the exact sort of new competition that Turnbull was trying to attract with the NBN, and let the market rule. The new entrant is saying Turnbulls offering is shit though. Awkward! It will be interesting to see what they actually bring to market, and how much shit MyRepublic throw back at the government each time they cant sign up a customer to the 100mbps plan they want.
I agree
In Turnbull SOE he states “at least 25Mbps” but NBN PIR is just 25 Mbps once per day. Already shows they can’t do it.
“It will be interesting to see what they actually bring to market”
Two cans and a bit of fraying string should provide some worth competition to the MTM model…
Agreed. It is surely time to start revealing just _how_ “very good” and “extremely encouraging” the speeds will be, especially with a price tag of “$70 billion” (quote from none other than the federal treasurer Joe Hockey and I will keep reminding all about this quote, because we can’t just look for a cheaper quote from another supplier).
People might start to think that they are not so proud.
Let’s see now, Turnbull’s original $27…9 Billion is now quoted at $70 Billion already by the treasurer before those nodes have even commenced rolling out.
Can we have another CBA with that Malcolm?
“It is very unfortunate to see the NBN FTTN network being criticised for its performance before it has even launched commercial services and shown its capabilities,” the company said.
Ok let’s not criticise it’s performance “before it has even launched commercial services” and instead criticise the fact it’s been two years and the NBN FTTN network… err… “hasn’t launched commercial services”…!!!
“It is very unfortunate to see the NBN FTTN network being criticised for its performance before it has even launched commercial services and shown its capabilities,” the company said.
Err…therefore it’s complete hypocriticrisy to see NBN championing the NBN FTTN network for it’s performance “before it has even launched commercial services and shown its capabilities”…!!!
Excellent point +1
precisely what i was thinking when i read it!
“It is very unfortunate to see the NBN FTTN network being criticised for its performance before it has even launched commercial services and shown its capabilities,” the company said.
but yet its perfectly okay to trumpet 96/31 mbps “early trial” results – from a trial Telstra regards as not real world, and needs further work! dare one say it… before it is commercial or shown its capabilities? hypocrisy is the word!
NBN is not being built for “50-100 years”, made clear by every review; future unknown so bring fibre closer to premises and use most appropriate technology.
NBN goal is to get higher speed broadband to all Australians as quickly as possible with best value. VDSL and HFC has demonstrated its usefulness in many markets.
Where’s all the business competition coming from NZ fibre customers? Surely a joke. Much like Master of Computer grads driving Melbourne taxis, talk doesn’t make reality.
“NBN goal is to get higher speed broadband to all Australians as quickly as possible with best value.”
No, that’s the stated political goal. In reality we are building this network to serve over the next century.
Sorry Renai, it’s more than a political goal; explicit in the Statement of Expectations issued to the company by the Minister (and sole shareholder). Also clearly stated in the document was the expectation of future upgrades.
Little, if anything, so far installed will see out this century. Pace of technology change far too rapid. Constant upgrades expected of all versions (including FTTH), a very big risk.
Thanks Richard for highlighting conservative short term thinking for what it is.
You see these kinds of assumptions betray a total lack of historical knowledge and forward thinking.
You simply don’t have disruptive Comms Technologies come along every 10 or even every 20 years!
Just look at copper and fibre, they had 30 years worth of development and niche applications before they started to become mainstream reliable communications mediums.
Copper is now at the end of its dev cycle and fibre is now approaching the middle of its dev cycle with terahertz frequencies now being explored.
Even if you look at wireless Comms, it took decades to be refined to the point were widespread adoption was possible. It still has major shortcomings such as Limited useful frequencies and will likely stay a complementary service for the future.
+1
“Little, if anything, so far installed will see out this century. Pace of technology change far too rapid. Constant upgrades expected of all versions (including FTTH), a very big risk.”
So instead of running out copper a century back we wouldn’t have this present mess had we just patiently waited for the breeders & evolution to come up with faster carrier pigeons?
Reminds me of a smiling Turnbull standing alongside Alan Jones as he proclaimed we don’t need fibre as wireless is the future…
@ Richard…
“Little, if anything, so far installed will see out this century. Pace of technology change far too rapid. Constant upgrades expected of all versions (including FTTH), a very big risk.”
(from previously above) “…future unknown so bring fibre closer to premises and use most appropriate technology.”
So lwhat copper, or iron wire lines…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDQY1upYFfI
LOL, that clip is hilarious :-)
“sole shareholder”
You seem to be forgetting the people that put him in the position of “sole shareholder” Richard…which makes me wonder if he is the “sole” person they need to answer to….
@ Richard
“NBN goal is to get higher speed broadband to all Australians as quickly as possible with best value”…
Ah yes, the “faster/cheaper” FTTN plan. A wonder plan… as if one had written it himself eh Richard ;)
The very FTTN referred to a decade ago (when still somewhat feasible) as fraudband by the same people now lauding it. A roll out which was apparently a simple task pre-election, not so easy and completely fucked up, post election…
2 years on, in getting FTTN, “higher speed broadband to all Australians as quickly as possible”, can you tell us how many actual FTTN customers NBN has Richard?
Ooh and also, you do know MTM is going to cost $70B – according to the number 1 numbers man… Treasurer Joe Hockey, don’t you Richard?
So much for faster and cheaper eh?
“future unknown so bring fibre closer to premises and use most appropriate technology.”
Or just bring right into premises to save a lot of time, money and stuffing about postponing the inevitable. The future is unknown and that’s why you hope for the best but expect the worst. Building a FttP network is an insurance policy. Rolling out a FttN patchwork still assumes people will use fixed line networks but it’s not much of an insurance policy if you also assume speed requirements grow and continue to grow.
+1
Yes Richard, much like first posting higher speed limits then pushing us to buy & maintain expensive, high performance vehicles in an often futile attempt to improve the dismal traffic flows presently being achieved on our congested, poorly maintained & neglected (copper) roads.
Short-sighted with greater long term costs & far less benefit than upgrading to an adequate (all fibre) system for not only existing, but future traffic needs instead.
I love the fact that they fail to mention the other trial in Epping, Victoria which they installed but were unable to supply enough power to run the unit. That just goes to show how inept this nbn tm mob are. out of a small scale trial they were unable to get 50% of it working. seriously.
Comments are closed.