Coalition dumps satellite for FTTN NBN for Tasmania’s west coast

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news In a change from its previous commitment, the Coalition Government has announced that it will abandon the satellite broadband rollout on the west coast of Tasmania and instead deploy fibre to the node (FTTN) via the NBN.

In a statement, Communications Minister Mitch Fifield said that “major towns” on the west coast will now get superfast broadband using either FTTN technology or the fixed wireless network.

The move marks an “$18.5 million commitment”, he added, that will come about if the Coalition is re-elected.

Fifield made the announcement along with Brett Whiteley, Liberal Member for Braddon, and Deputy Premier Jeremy Rockliff (pictured above). Also in the picture above is Phil Vickers, the Mayor of West Coast Council.

Saying the changes are part of the existing “Technology Choice” plan, the three said that the alternative technologies will replace the satellite rollout to “more than 2,700 west coast premises”, including FTTN to Queenstown, Rosebery and Zeehan, and fixed wireless to Strahan.

Welcoming the shift in policy, Whiteley said he had “listened to and worked with these major towns along the west coast to ensure that the technology mix was the best fit”.

“The west coast region is a strong economic performer and this plan will ensure it continues to attract new investment to help create jobs and growth for the region,” Whiteley said.

Rockliff added that an FTTN and fixed wireless rollout would “give certainty” to residents and businesses which “rely heavily” on the Internet.

“The $4.5 million of in-kind support provided by the Hodgman Government further demonstrates its commitment to the west coast community,” Rockliff said.

According to Fifield, the Tasmanian Government will support the move by making the existing but unused TasNetworks’ fibre optic cable available to the NBN under a lease model “at no cost over a suitable long-term period”.

Under the Coalition, the NBN be completed “six to eight years sooner nationwide than under Labor’s plan and at around $30 billion less cost”, Fifield added.

“Labor’s approach to the NBN will see Tasmanian families and small businesses pay more and wait longer,” he said.

The $18.5 million plan is “fully costed and fully funded”, according to the statement, and would includes Federal funding and “access to an existing state-owned fibre link”.

Additionally, it added, NBN construction resources that are currently deployed in towns on the north coast are expected to move to the west coast around the middle of next year.

In late April, the Labor Opposition promised to deliver fibre to the premises (FTTP) to much of the west coast if it wins the upcoming Federal Election.

The move seemed aimed at resolving the complaints of residents and businesses in the area over being relegated to satellite broadband access under the Coalition.

Some towns had been previously slated to receive a full FTTP rollout as part of the previous Labor Government’s original NBN plan.

The Coalition’s latest announcement would seem an attempt to appease these communities without the full outlay of bringing fibre into those premises.

Image credit: Office of Senator Fifield

50 COMMENTS

  1. “The $18.5 million plan is “fully costed and fully funded””

    I’ve heard that rhetoric before, that didn’t pan out, so excuse me if I take that plan with no grains of salt. I guess at least we know the price of votes for the Coalition … $18.5 million … because it’s certainly not about enabling opportunities for Australians.

    Having said that it’s great news that under either of the major parties these towns will get something better … it’s just a pity that they had to scare the daylights out of the Coalition to make it a certainty.

    • It’s worth remembering that it’s a ‘non-core’ election promise or as they’re more commonly known ‘probably a lie made to get votes’. They’ll simply disavow all knowledge of saying this after the election if it works like they did last time by moving the goal-posts yet again.

    • MTM will run out of funds so conveniently have to connect them back to Satellite anyway.

      Seriously if Tasmanians don’t learn from 2013 BS that was spun by LPA and when they thought they’d still get 100% fibre they deserve the bad internet they get.

      • We previously they where promised FTTP and got satellite. Now they are promised FTTN and I would assume will actually get some downgrade from Satellite(maybe back to dial up)

    • > because it’s certainly not about enabling opportunities for Australians

      The NBN policy from both parties is not about enabling opportunities for all Australians. Labor’s plan is to deliver really fast internet for only a small minority (<1% connected at 1Gbp in 2026). The reality of this can be clearly seen with the number on fibre connected at 100Mbps down to 16% having dropped 3% in 2015.

      Labor clearly stated in the NBNCo Corporate Plan that speeds faster than 100Mbps were required for the eHealth and eLearning benefits to be realised. At the same time Labor designed a financial model which has resulted in 79% on fibre connecting at 25Mbps or less. Currently it isn't possible to order an NBN service faster than 100Mbps from an RSP despite Labor announcing availability prior to the 2010 election and NBN making wholesale plans available in December 2013.

      • Labor clearly stated in the NBNCo Corporate Plan that speeds faster than 100Mbps were required for the eHealth and eLearning benefits to be realised.

        Yeah? And? Anyone that needed eHealth or eLearning could have gotten the 100Mbps service. You kinda just stating the obvious Mathew…

      • “The NBN policy from both parties is not about enabling opportunities for all Australians.”

        Did you miss the whole “innovation” push from both parties recently?

        “Labor’s plan is to deliver really fast internet for only a small minority ”

        Errrrr … no it isn’t … Labor’s plan is here:

        http://www.alp.org.au/startupyear

        And it’s a little more than your description Mathew.

        “Currently it isn’t possible to order an NBN service faster than 100Mbps from an RSP despite Labor announcing availability prior to the 2010 election and NBN making wholesale plans available in December 2013.”

        And? If the RSP’s aren’t offering it … then how can people take them up on it? You seem to have forgotten the other half of the equation.

          • “He blames Labor for people choosing lower tier plans”

            He blames Labor for everything…even the current pricing scheme (that the Coalition have been in charge of for 3 years).

        • Well Murdoch
          Mathew here is a hypocrite first he complains about his 1% on Gbps than his excuse that at the other end of the spectrum that 50% aren’t on 12/1 is because Telstra doesn’t offer it

      • “Labor’s plan is to deliver really fast internet for only a small minority (<1% connected at 1Gbp in 2026).”
        As opposed to the current governments’ plan of 0% on 1Gbpx in 22026.

        ” The reality of this can be clearly seen with the number on fibre connected at 100Mbps down to 16% having dropped 3% in 2015."
        Uhh, Labor have clearly delivered really fast internet to 100% of those lucky enough to have FTTP rolled out to them – whether they then choose to take advantage of those speeds is entirely up to them – not Labor and certainly not you.

        "At the same time Labor designed a financial model which has resulted in 79% on fibre connecting at 25Mbps or less."
        A financial model which required 50% to be on 25Mbps or higher and which is currently seeing 67% on 25Mbps or higher and rising. Ergo, your point is completely irrelevant.

        "NBN making wholesale plans available in December 2013."
        And since this time, the Liberals have done nothing to fix this situation.

    • “The $18.5 million plan is “fully costed and fully funded””

      It’s OK, they’ll “revise” it all away after the election….they have form after all…

    • Ooh, 18 million. Big spenders here! Sad that NBN isn’t about cost benefit but rather it’s about campaign pork barrel pledges.

      • Considering an F-35 is anywhere between $148m and $337m a pop ($24b for all the ones we’ll get) and the 12 new subs will cost about the same as the NBN…er…yeah…

  2. This raises a few questons:
    1) if the original choice of satellite was the best choice for these areas, why is that being changed?
    2) this announcement has been made during an election campaign – either the NBN Co is using its position to support the LNP, or the LNP is fiddling with the NBN for political purposes. Neither is a good look (and legally questionable).
    3) what precedent does this set? Can the NBN’s choice of technology change on LNP whim? Or is this strictly only during an election?
    4) how is Tasmania deriving fair value by providing access to its fibre network to the NBN at no cost? If fibre networks cost so little to operate, why do telco’s charge so much for access? You can’t have it both ways – either Tasmanians are being screwed, or the cost to build and operate fibre networks is so low you can literally give away access. Which is it NBN Co and LNP?

    Finally: “Rockliff added that an FTTN and fixed wireless rollout would “give certainty” to residents and businesses which “rely heavily” on the Internet.” Yes, we ALL rely heavily on the Internet. Apparently that fact is unimportant to the LNP because they took a network capable of delivering services that supported Internet related business and commerce and gave us something incapable of supporting what the country needs. What makes you so special?

    • 1) Access to (previously non-existant nor budgeted) fibre transit.
      2) Policy announcements by political parties are typical of election campaigns. No legality question.
      3) Policies of political parties, as always, changed on their whim (voters decide whether to reward them).
      4) Rolling out cable has a high fixed cost (labor & equipment). The marginal cost of adding fibres to the cable is low, so companies regularly rollout many more individual fibres than required. This excess “dark fibre” can be on-sold, or in this case given away. NBNCo will light this fibre for their transit network saving several millions compared with overbuilding their own.

      Comms & Politics 101.

      What could have been achieved with competent negotiators (tens of billions wasted)?

      “West Coast TAS NBN policies perfectly encapsulating the major parties broader NBN policies:”
      https://delimiter.com.au/2016/06/09/photos-nbn-co-builds-node-flooded-riverbank/#li-comment-744534

      • If only we had Richard eh?

        Well seeing Richard’s MTM, we certainly got the dick, regardless.

      • LOL

        “When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber.” – Winston Churchill

    • What Richard said. Things have changed, LNP is reacting. A good chunk of this is likely because its an election period, but the NBN itself isnt spruiking anything new. There IS some politicking in the statement, but the core part isnt a biggie.

      You’ll find infrastructure in the area has improved, likely with Telstra having upgraded stuff, and that this means its become easier to roll out other technology.

      Its similar to when Labor chose to roll out FttP to various small communities(or plan to at the time) that were just off major trunklines rather than do fixed wireless. Things have changed, the plans been modified. For once, I wouldnt read anything dodgy into this, they’re just taking advantage of the timing and who could blame them.

      • Yep. If there wasn’t an election, it wouldn’t happen. It’ll be interesting to see if they stick to their promise this time though…

      • On what planet is Telstra upgrading stuff – and in its most marginal markets to boot?
        Having squeezed every last cent out of it’s copper, and sold (sorry, “leased”) it to the mugs at the Coalition-run NBN, it now refuses to do even basic network repairs except those it’s contractually obliged to for the NBN.
        I suspect the Coalition parties must be getting wilder and wilder, given the brain addled stuff people will swallow after attending one.

    • “Be Innovatively Agile” (oh no I’ve given them ideas!)

      You aren’t wrong – although if they vote these donkeys in again they will be disappointed when it’s revealed as a “non core promise”.

  3. Don’t forget: they’ll sign contracts to lock in an FttN build for those towns, which means Labor will either have to rip up their FttP election promise for those towns, or rip up the FttN construction contracts and pay a financial penalty to the construction firms.

    Win-win for the Libs, lose-lose for Labor and the towns concerned.

  4. Please …. no-one mention porcine or large round containers. Especially not in the same sentence.
    (Ooops, I just did.)

  5. These thugs and their Apple IIe rollout need to be stopped.

    But 600ms latency internet connections as with satellite isn’t so great. I would seriously still want satellite over faulty telephone lines any day.

  6. The faulty cabling in these remote areas on the west I have no doubt are much worse than in Sydney. Do they even have any money left to replace it all like they have been doing ?

  7. If the west coast was promised FTTP and but got satellite instead then what make these Liberals think they can win them back with FTTN? These people know what they were promised until they were removed from the NBN FTTP rollout in 2013 and will not want “super fast” FTTN over FTTP. Seems like the Liberals were wrong about people of west Tasmania not needing any better than satellite. Talk about damage control. Hahaha you Liberal clowns are funny. Should be working in a circus.

  8. ah well, if it saves a bundle of people from laggy satellite crap then good I suppose.

  9. Ok, lets now have a look at the 30 odd towns in WA that already have ADSL2+ but the Coalition’s plans for NBN are satellite. What about doing the right and logical thing for them or is the fear of loosing seats in regional WA not as high on his list.

  10. There is a bad smell in the air!

    Ziggy the waster and the NBN board of yes wankers are getting very worried the new masters Clare/Conroy has prepared a big no frills 4th of July fireworks exit party. One that rivals the burning man Guy Fawkes bonfire party.

    Who benefits?

    Putting it politely, history tells us if this Tassie Devil swinger seat falls, so does the sitting government as well!

    Hmm, a bit of pork barrelling and vote buying at the same time. Is it one of too little , too late?

    Since there was zero provision in the Morrison doomed to always fail mini budget of 2016. One should ask, where is all this money coming from?

    Do we pick a number between forty and one hundred billion for government cost over runs in 2017?

    Oh, that’s right the conservative LNP fear of change of everything and change of suits party of 1949, cursed the ALP for the same tactics in 2008.

    “Want of foresight, unwillingness to act when action would be simple and effective, lack of clear thinking, confusion of counsel until the emergency comes, until self-preservation strikes its jarring gong-these are the features which constitute the endless repetition of history.” Winston Churchill 1935

  11. Strange what an election will bring to the top of the pot. Cost to roll fibre anywhere between $8000 to $85,000 per mile. Depends on terrain. Official figures out of the US. Terrestrial Microwave 60 miles point to point under $400,000 average, 60 miles. Fibre say $15,000 per mile = $900,000 plus lite up $250,000 plus distribution junctions and $200,000. Total fibre cost $1,350,000.
    Terrestrial microwave can be rolled out in weeks if towers are in place and be very flexible for expansion and distribution. Fibre non flexible and is months to install.

    • Interesting selling a technically inferior product.

      Who benefits?

      “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.”― Winston S. Churchill

  12. Last election they were Promised* FTTP

    This election they are Promised* FTTN

    Next election they will be Promised* ADSL?

    *to be fair, this was a non core promise, and it is not clear if it was scripted. The first was also made while in opposition. TA/MT have stated each of these is a reason that they cannot be held to a promise, which I supose just makes it a gaseous emission, not a promise.

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