“Great news”: Fifield launches FTTN near Ballarat

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news Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has announced the launch of Fibre to the Node services this week in regional Victoria, describing the move as “great news” for local residents.

Last week the Liberal Senator visited Ballarat and the neighbouring town of Ballan in regional Victoria to announce the launch of FTTN services in the area, as well as to promote the Federal Government’s mobile blackspots policy, which is also seeing infrastructure rolled out in the area.

Fifield told local media that the launch was “great news” for Ballan particularly, which would have FTTN switched on on the 20th of May. The Minister was accompanied by Liberal candidate for Ballarat, Sarah Wade, who is going up against incumbent Labor MP Catherine King, who holds Ballarat on a 11.7 percent margin.

Fifield and Wade went on a “tour” of local telecommunications infrastructure in the area.

“Superfast broadband is right around the corner for more than 1,300 homes and businesses in this growing regional hub,” Fifield said in a statement.

Wade added: “It’s an exciting time for residents in Ballan as they will be among the first Victorians to use NBN’s node-based fibre broadband from next Friday, 20 May.”

“It has been very pleasing to see NBN construction completed so quickly here in Ballan and I know many residents are eager to connect to the improved service as soon as possible.”
Under the Coalition’s faster rollout plan, the construction phase has taken only seven months from start to finish in Ballan.”

“Importantly, Ballan residents have been spared the civil works damage and inconvenience that was a hallmark of the early stage NBN rollout under Labor,” Ms Wade said.

Fifield said on Radio 3BA in Ballarat that the FTTN switch on was “great news” for local residents.

The host, Gabrielle Hodgson, said FTTN had been “compared to building a duplicated freeway from Ballarat then finding at Caroline Springs it becomes a dirt road to the CBD”

“Is that fair?” she asked Fifield.

In response, the Minister said the previous Labor Government had taken a “theological” approach to the NBN, with former Communications Minister Stephen Conroy having decided that “the NBN had to be full fibre at any cost”.

“When Malcolm Turnbull became the Minister for Communications, he thought, let’s have a look at this. Surely the bottom line is how you can rollout the NBN the fastest and at the least cost. Because we want all Australians to have the NBN as soon as possible,” said Fifield.

“So, we’re taking what’s called a multi-technology mix, which means we’re technology agnostic. Whatever is the technology that will work, that will get a service to people quicker, and at lowest cost, then that’s what we’ll do.”

“Do whatever works. So there’s fibre to the premises, there’s fibre to the node, there’s fixed wireless, and in capital cities well be using pay TV cables, known as HFC. And in remote areas we’ll be using satellite. So using a combination of technologies. And the great news is, through this approach people will get the NBN nation-wide six to eight years sooner than would have been the case under our predecessors.”

“Six to eight years sooner, and at $30 billion less cost.”

Fifield said that under the Turnbull Coalition Government, the NBN was on-track to meet its Victorian rollout forecasts and the network is due to be completed nationally in 2020.

67 COMMENTS

    • ..to buy a house in the asian century your kid has no hope in after this country built it and the boomers took more paper profits for show and tell with the rest of your boring family that has a calculator for a social media friend?

    • Still spinning the bovine excrement I see Mitch!
      The below would be a hell of a lot closer to the truth:
      When Malcolm Turnbull became the Minister for Communications, he thought, let’s just tell those tech illiterate voters we’ll do it “Faster & cheaper for a mere $27Billion” as we keep Uncle Rupert plugging for us by protecting his Foxtel HFC Networks by crippling the fibre with thousands of Node speed humps & corroded copper whatever the eventual cost to the taxpayers.
      Murdoch’s News Corpse responded with Headlines “We Need Tony” & “Kick This Mob Out” as Abbott orders Turnbull to “Demolish The NBN”

      Quigley’s FTTH was audited to cost $43 Billion & completed by 2021.
      Turnbull fudged that reality to $90 Billion & completed by 2030, a fantasy that Ltd News & Fifield continues to spruik as his own MTM now rapidly approaches $56 Billion ($70 Billion according to Hockey) & hopefully nearing completion by 2020.

      So much for their promised “Faster & Cheaper Minimum 25Mbps for All by 2016” as we here already struggle to achieve even Up TO 5Mbps during evenings or weekends on our expensive but crippled 50Mbps NBN plans that we’re ready to abandon for the much cheaper 12Mbps plans that reflect the present sad MTM reality.

  1. Mean while in a town of 33,000 that is the South Wests biggest regional, financial and tourist hub the NBN has done nothing more than make survey markings. Warrnambool has been in “build commenced” for nearly 3 months now and there has been no ground broken and next to zero civil works being done, but hey let’s add another “build commenced” area to the map to “show” we are moving along….moving along with what? Your fantasy that there’s an increased roll-out speed? Well with an RFS date of Nov 18th 2016 it’s going to be interesting to see how you’ll accomplish rolling out to 6,000+ residents that fall with that RFS within the next 6months. Goodluck!!

  2. Six to eight years sooner? Pull the other one, mate… just about nobody is getting NBN sooner as a result of the MTM rollout, and what they are getting is far worse than they would have had.

    • They’re pulling Alains trick of claiming the CP16 FTTP figures are representative of the original rollout.

      Liars and criminals.

    • > what they are getting is far worse than they would have had

      For the 79% choosing to connect at 25Mbps or less FTTN, FTTP or HFC make very little difference.
      For the 1% Labor predicted would connect at 1Gbps in 2026, I doubt it makes much difference.

      • So the drop-outs on FTTN compared to FTTH make little difference?
        The speed dropping when it rains?
        When more users jump on in?
        etc, etc.

      • @ Matthew – You must be living under a rock to think that this is the same of what could have been a future proof network able to compete in the world market of the new economy and still make a ROI…..

      • TODAY

        I like how you assume that speed chosen today will be the same in 1 10 or 15 years.

        Also reliability on copper is far far worse then Fibre.

      • For the 600 Million homes around the world with 1Gbps by 2020, I guess Australia is now the Land of No-Hopes…

        “For the 79% choosing to connect at 25Mbps or less” – it is apparent that choosing anything faster doesn’t actually work, so why do it?

      • @ Mathew…

        I don’t know whether to be impressed by your perpetually, faithful persistence to the cause or abhorred by your complete and utter continual stupidity…

        Although I must say I am certainly trending towards the latter…

        You’re welcome

      • hey Mathew. Didn’t you used to say 50% on 12mbps.

        Why don’t you say that anymore? Just wondering…

        • ..Mathew is his Dads microphone: he has no say in anything like his Mum !!

          As long as he gets the spare rental he doesn’t care either and nor does his spiffy and efficiently cold and calculating new family! (Hide the crack pipe and Dads cool!! Mum never mattered and never raised a son to care about anyone..)

          (She does laugh every time she leaves the room of course…)

      • For the 79% choosing to connect at 25Mbps or less FTTN, FTTP or HFC make very little difference.

        Those beyond 600m are lucky to get 25Mbps, is it any wonder there is such a high take up of the lower speed plans?

        Good thing that’s what you wanted.

  3. Delivering people faulty ADSL that goes down for days, weeks , months whenever it feels like. Delivered nothing. Extorting businesses with 10k fibre installs. Very small capacity because it’s just an entertainment system I believe. These duds ignoring business and industry I tell you what.

    Meanwhile they will overbuild this faulty crap in Geelong replacing IINET’s “working” 200/40 HFC for no other reason than fascist ideology.

        • ..hey, I’m no Bill Gates but isn’t that McSonny McBill McWilliams over there?

          WHERE??

          Over there…. LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK!

          Oooops, the kids have no house and no future in the Asian century we built on your grandfathers war sacrifices… Sorry, folks: don’t ask what you can do for your country but ask what your country can do for you………………………………….. NOT!

          ;^<

      • Mathew
        With 89% on 25Mbps or less would that mean FTTN has trouble delivering faster speeds

      • Tell us Mathew (50/12… d’oh) how many are connecting to 25Mbps “or higher”… even considering that with shitty FTTN many of the higher speeds simply aren’t available…?

        GO

        You’re welcome.. You will notice that you have attained this closing greeting, I keep especially for all of those special posters…

        You’re welcome again…

      • you mean 79% *opting* for 25 or 12mbps ? so probably faster than what they were getting on bodgyly connected ADSL2 ?

        not sure what you are suggesting , that people be forced onto a 100mbps plan ?

        take a look at whats happening in places like Toowoomba where a sizeable city is covered with mostly FTTP (and a brown splat patch getting FTTN) – not enough fibre leading into the city to cover speed demand because NBNCo underestimated what word of mouth and ubiquity can do.

        I’m fairly certain that saturation will drive up demand for higher speed plans as will sales of computers and TVs that are 4K capable

      • How many are on 12 mbps Mathew?

        Cause you know, the original plan was based on around the 50% mark being on 12mbps, and then that would cover the costs of the build.

        So you know if that number is greater, then that might be bad. But if the number is lower, that would suggest that people are actually paying MORE for their FTTP etc. So that would mean it would have been paid off sooner….

        Right?

        • His argument against that is that then people are on 25Mbit because their ISP doesnt offer 12, so then they would clearly be on 12 if they had the option to…. Or something….

      • With 79% connecting to FTTP at 25Mbps or slower they call it the same.

        What did you expect? Only those close to a node get faster speeds than ADSL.

        But thats what you’ve been championing…

    • … and the world laughed: by that I obviously mean the country we built: China!

      People died for this and Liberal voters now recognise that: TURNBULL IS FINGERED AND THIS BLOKE HAS NO FRIENDS ANYWHERE,… NOT EVEN HIS FAMILY!

      Imagine being a cut above and voting for copper internet for your neighbours kids and waking up after the election and finding the whole street is having a party that you are not invited to. That is what is going to happen to all these Liberal voting child haters!!

  4. More misinformation and lies from the coalition clowns. Not surprising, the desperation is apparent.

    Describes FttN as “great news” is just indicative of someone who lacks foresight.

    • Desperation indeed. It will be interesting to see how they spin the AFP raids for “NBN Leak” info.

      We really do need an royal commision once these dickheads are gone, it boggles the mind that they have been such poor managers.

  5. “In response, the Minister said the previous Labor Government had taken a “theological” approach to the NBN”. What the hell that’s currently the argument against fttn since no engineer would recommend that technology at all.

    • I believe it’s a means to say that they rejected a scientific approach and adopted instead one where they make it up as they go along and claim it as religious proof that they’re correct.

      It’s an almighty admission.

  6. Continuity with change.

    Or I am dumbstruck.

    Wow, let me check my ABC fact checker first.

    Mitch Fifeld’s claim we connected 1300 premises with this FTTN crapware.

    ABC fact checker:

    Ballarat 46,602 premises where NBN fibre cable passes 25,853 premises connected to fibre cable 26,780 premises to be connected by 2018? (oh that’s right NBN is bankrupt due to lack of federal funding after September 2016) 1,421 premises to be connected to NBN this months cycle

    Sorry Mitch, you are telling us very big polispeak porkies. It seems , your figure is short by 121! They must belong to the 8.5% swing voting Ballarat peasants who will be voting the ALP ticket all the way.

    Stupid is as stupid does.

  7. I live near Ballan. Live in a small area with around 30-40 houses. When they put up a wireless tower last year 3 kilometers away most of us were happy. We have no mobile coverage, Only dial-up internet. Bit of a black hole.

    Well there surveying was terrible because across the open field from the tower about 500m is a bloody big hill that overshadows it, blocking I got say 90 degrees of coverage from the tower because it runs of line of sight.

    NBN wont allow wireless so its off to the satellite for us.

    • Costello lives,… hmmmn: he isn’t asked for too many comments nowadays is he btw!

      Hey: I thought that old man smell Howard fella was helping Barnaby ,… now where is that Honest Johnny fella?

  8. Go Mitch (HOF)…

    Now hand out typewriters and 8 track tape players, to keep that same state of the art tech flowing, dude…

    *shakes head*

  9. “Is that fair?” she asked Fifield.

    Fifield, having been asked a question that was off script continued by spouting the same bull he always does, which did not address the question whatsoever – in the hope that by answering a 3 word question with a 200 word answer (largely blaming the previous ALP government after 3 years of LNP rule), people would forget the question and believe his answer relevant.

    *facepalm*

    I really wish this guy could be shown for the complete clown that he is.

  10. I live in moe and the nodes are appearing damn it all, was hoping until after the election before anything happened but i guess having a liberal member as our rep fast tracked it all.

  11. Let’s wait and see what the people of Ballarat have to say once they get connected. Those living in the area where FTTN just became available, please comment on your FTTN service.

    • They are too busy drinking themselves into a stupor wondering why they still vote Liberal because mum and dad told them all those years ago how they were superior to everyone else and that meant you voted Liberal to keep it that way…

  12. Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has announced the launch of Fibre to the Node services this week in regional Victoria, describing the move as “great news” for local residents.

    Yay! Slower, sooner! Good job Mitch!

  13. Only stupid people would connect to 100MB with 1000MB cap for same price as crappy ADSL2+ at 12Mb with 100MB cap, as you get to pay extra when you go over cap. Who wants Netflix when you can watch utter crap you don’t like with bonus adds.

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