Pauline Hanson to fix NBN “white elephant” with FTTN/Wi-Fi combo

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news Senator-Elect Pauline Hanson wants to use a combination of Fibre to the Node and a wireless technology similar to Wi-Fi, it has emerged, as the One Nation Leader takes a step into the national spotlight courtesy of her victory in the Senate over the weekend.

On Saturday night, Hanson was elected in her own right, with the Queensland believed to have picked up more than a full Senate quota, ensuring her position in the upper house is ensured. The Senate vote may take more than a month to be finalised, but Hanson’s position is not likely to change in that time.

Hanson has long been the leader of One Nation, a right-wing political party which achieved notoriety for its conservative political view sin the wake of her election to the House of Representatives in 1996. Hanson lost her seat the following election in 1998.

Over the past several days, some of Hanson’s views on the National Broadband Network project have come to light.

For example, the NewsMail newspaper published an article in late June following on from a launch held by Hanson in Bundaberg in Queensland at the time. Delimiter recommends readers click here for the full article.

Hanson was in Bundaberg to promote the launch of “Flash Fibres”, company which claims to use FTTN-like infrastructure in conjunction with radio equipment similar to Wi-Fi or 3G/4G mobile infrastructure to solve broadband problems.

The company’s website states:

“Flash Fibres’ Internet connections also use the FTTN system, however instead of using the copper network for the last mile, we use a radio link that is capable of transferring 100mbps. The radio link works by adding a small device on your roof, usually on your TV aerial, which is then connected to a router. Because the transmitter runs on radio frequencies, you will experience perfect connectivity rain, hail or shine.”

It is not clear to what extent the company operates in Queensland.

At the launch in June, One Nation candidate for the seat of Hinkler, Damian Huxham, said the technology meant the NBN would be ‘outdated’ before the NBN was completed in Bundaberg.

“Whoever wins the next election needs to revise the NBN rollout,” Hanson reportedly said at the launch. “When they’re digging up the roads, the cost to the taxpayer is not necessary when this service can be provided.”

Huxham described the NBN as a “white elephant”.

The model proposed by Flash Fibres has some similarities to models which have been used in countries such as Japan.

For example, in some countries telcos have deployed fibre cables to the basement of apartment blocks, and then used radio signals similar to Wi-Fi to provide fast access to customers.

The 3G and 4G classes of mobile technologies, as well as the wireless platform used by legacy telcos such as Unwired (now defunct) have also provided similar services, and even the NBN company’s own Fixed Wireless service uses a wireless platform from local cell towers to reach homes and business premises.

However, it is not clear why Flash Fibres would promote a wireless model from local neighbourhood ‘nodes’, when existing copper infrastructure already exists from those nodes to premises.

opinion/analysis
This appears to be the craziest form of bullshit I have ever seen applied to the National Broadband Network.

In comparison to this, the suggestions by some other politicians that 5G would make the NBN irrelevant start to look sensible.

Build a FTTN network and then install Wi-Fi for the last mile? Why would anyone in their right mind want to do that, when the copper (as crappy as it is) already exists?

Or am I missing something? Is this just another point to point wireless ISP such as the legitimate platform provided by a number of existing, mainly business or apartment block-focused telcos in Australia? That would certainly make a lot more sense than a FTTN/Wi-Fi combo deal.

In any case, I have no doubt that Hanson personally has no idea what she is spruiking here. This launch event appears to be much more about promoting a local business in Queensland, rather than providing actual policy options for the NBN. One hopes the new One Nation Senator will be educated about the NBN and its importance over the next several months.

74 COMMENTS

  1. I’d have thought her supporters would be against this as they’d be more likely to be in the “radio waves cause cancer” column in the “batshitcrazy.xls”?

    And I don’t get it either, why turn all those nodes into transmitters dotted all over a suburb, when they could just build one or two towers?

  2. She’s back: Hanson lists her demands
    ROLLING UPDATES: In an extraordinary press conference, Pauline Hanson says she wants a Royal Commission into Islam, and revealed she dislikes both Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten.

    Oh,.. and she wants a wi-fi elephant!

    ** That’s how you achieve cut-through folks: don’t diss it until you’ve tried it one is forced to perhap guess! How about a Royal Commission into the baby-boomer generation while we’re at it? Hey, what about a Royal Commission into Greed incorporated??

  3. “Or am I missing something?”
    Yes Renai you are missing something.. You have forgotten that Pauline Hanson has no brain cells. :)

    • I was actually surprised with her having a good idea today, she wants to turn the plebiscite into a referendum.

      Pretty well everything else she was sprouting was rubbish though, so I think she’s just grabbing random advisor ideas and floating them.

      • She didn’t have a good idea.
        No wireless allows you to experience perfect connectivity rain, hail or shine.

        • Read my reply again, I wasn’t referring to the wireless as the good idea (the wireless thing goes in the “spouting rubbish” bin).

  4. “Build a FTTN network and then install Wi-Fi for the last mile?”

    This makes perfect sense to me.

    signed, Professor Henry Ergas

  5. In any case, I have no doubt that Hanson personally has no idea what she is spruiking here.

    If you think about it coalition clowns should be in favor of this. It’s even cheaper and fits right in with their MTM “technology agnostic” rhetoric.

    • @ HC,

      I was thinking the same thing (enter YKW with sock puppet….about now).

      Thing is, for the usual suspect flat earthers here, they are in a no win situation. Because if they support PH they’ll be derided accordingly. But if they say she’s a loony or don’t support her new wonder plan, they’re simply turning on one of their own and making fun of her because she (ironically like them) supports a fucking stupid plan and they’ll be derided accordingly.

      :)

    • She’ll be one of the independent voices in the senate that the major parties will need to deal with if they want to get anything done.

      • There was no legislation needed to change from FTTP to FTTN, so do you really think that there’s going to need to be any legislation to make such a ridiculous change? It only requires the stakeholder ministers – (Communications and Finance) – to pick up the phone and say “build it with fishing line and banjos” and it will be changed. Hanson won’t get anywhere near to having any input.

        • Directly, no, but if either party wants to get decisions through in ANY way, they will need to be making deals.

          So its indirect power through the Senate, not the Lower House. Its similar to how the Greens have influence even though they only hold one House of Reps seat.

          • Yep, you could see all kinds of whacky deals done…hopefully we’ll know what deals they do with the Greens and several indies wanting to push for more transparency in government.

          • Essendon probably has a better chance at winning the flag this year (sorry…), but she still has some power. Was just pointing out how.

            I cant see it happening either, but these will be a strange 3 years no matter who forms Government.

          • Calling it now: “…won’t happen…”

            Probably not for this specific thing Michael, but there have been a lot of people saying things like that this election….and look where we are ;o)

            Like the old Chinese curse says, we live in interesting times!

    • she poses exactly zero threat to anything, she will simply vote *with* any measures from Libs and Labor that can be sold to her as right wing.

      now if she had a handful of people in the house of Reps.. then we’d need to start worrying

  6. I see some strange logic in it, if I squint my eyes enough. FttN sucks because of the copper so if wifi can take the copper out, its better in some ways. Problem then becomes contention. So you’ll be needing a few wifi repeaters, which kind of ups the OPEX of the idea.

    Still, its lateral thinking, something new for Pauline.

      • They’d probably be fine with it if she puts a big “Islam go home!” sticker on it.

      • Yes, Tony Abbott protested it in the mid to late 90s sometime (its on youtube but damn hard to find) against Telstra/com being able to pop towers near schools etc – of course policy evolves over time and when we understand more about an issue but I did giggle in 2013 when he announced a few million to fill in mobile phone blackspots around the country!

  7. I think the residential rollout should have been something similar to this. For residential the rollout should have been subsidized fibre on demand, with the proviso a wireless repeater is installed on the roof to service surrounding homes. This would have a allowed a quicker rollout, the people who want/need fibre can get it for a reasonable price, more ports on ADSL are freed up and eventually we could have ubiquitous wifi. Schools, hospitals and businesses would still get FTTP, and apartments would get FTTP/B.

      • I’m surprised mobile providers haven’t been doing this, especially in blackspots. Run fibre to a home and mount a picocell for surrounding homes.

        • Yeah, microcells have a two kilometer range and a lot of houses in rural areas are near roads.

          Heck, if they’d done it right, the mobile companies may have even chipped in some for the network build.

          • Build em into FTTdp termination nodes… :)

            They tried something broadly along these lines in the US with the dual wifi broadcasting modems. By default the second channel was on, and created a widespread microcell network.

            Of course, was never just that easy, but as a proof of concept it definitely showed it was doable.

          • The problem with any solution involving wireless to provide popular broadband networking is the question of RF bandwidth. There are several laws of physics, and a spectrum plan with other users in it, that prevents it from being a viable option for a mainstream ‘last mile’ network, especially supporting the kind of bandwidths we will want now and into the future. It is a shared medium with specific bounds on available bandwidth. For example, nbn Fixed wireless has I think 98MHz worth of the 2.3GHz across Australia, providing 4 channels to work with, although there was talk of using another band in 3.5GHz). Also factor in the significantly higher cost (capital, maintenance, obsolescence and replacement) of CPE and Base Station equipment, the inherit unreliability of wireless (comparatively speaking), and the tin-foil hat brigade.

            It is why Fixed Wireless was only intended for a very small subset of the population – where it was prohibitively expensive or impractical to run FTTP, and where the contention ratio’s could be kept to an acceptable limit.

            Often when we here of a new version of a mobile network standard, there are extravagant claims of bandwidth obtained during testing. What they don’t mention is that this is often just a single-user using multiple channels under optimal conditions. Wireless has its place, just not for providing popular coverage in a national broadband network. A wise engineer once said, ye cannae change the laws of physics, Captain!

          • @Lee Ryman

            I agree Lee, but there are several moving parts to it, and transmit power is one of the things that modify the need for spectrum. Lower power means you have more spectrum to play with. For instance, a microcell only covers two kilometers, so the area it impacts is limited. It’s like peoples wireless routers, they have a very short broadcast range, and have several (12?) channels they can use. The more distance they try to push wireless, the bigger the frequency/spectrum issue becomes, pulling it back in closer eases those issues.

            All resources are limited, and they need to make choices between them.

          • @Tinman_au

            Actually, the 2.4GHz 802.11b WiFi channelisation only has three non-overlapping channels. If you use an arrangement that doesn’t just use 1, 6, and 11, you end up interfering with each other. Coding gain or the modulation used helps get the data through, but the data rates and hence bandwidth will drop as a result.

            Lower power also gives you less SNR, which again results in less bandwidth as you often have to use more coding gain, a different modulation technique, or other advances to make up for it (e.g. multipath reception or MIMO). Lower power does give you is the ability to reuse existing spectrum in non-adjacent areas – which I understand was a point you were trying to make. Its just that what you make up in spectrum re-use you loose in range and SNR. It may be doable, but a fixed line installation will in most cases around Australia be the superior choice for simpler technology, lower cost, higher reliability and high bandwidth applications.

          • It may be doable, but a fixed line installation will in most cases around Australia be the superior choice for simpler technology, lower cost, higher reliability and high bandwidth applications.

            Don’t disagree with anything you’ve said Lee. I’m not saying it should replace a full fibre NBN, but that shouldn’t stop us (as in the Australian “us”) from enhancing it and value adding to “a good thing” to make it even better.

    • ” For residential the rollout should have been subsidized fibre on demand, with the proviso a wireless repeater is installed on the roof to service surrounding homes.”

      This is screaming for high maintenance costs and difficult to triage issues.
      Anyone that gets fibre also has to provide a suitable spot for a repeater. With power. With access for third parties to fix if there are issues. Which might need approval from body corporate, land lords and more.
      It adds more costs by adding yet another support type to the mix.

      A big drawcard for FTTP was it reduced all fixed line connection types to a single type. It either worked at full speed or did not work at all. NBN/your RSP could determine if the connection to the internal NTD was working, and after that it was the customer equipment that would be causing issues.
      Customers needed to know if they were fixed line, fixed wireless or satellite. That’s it. Plans for the 93% fixed line were easier to understand as there are no ‘up to’, no ‘weather permitting’, none of those complications.
      You knew you had the NBN because there was a box on the wall (with a red light?).

      All of these simplifications incrementally reduce management and support costs.

  8. It’s quite apt.

    Wireless thinking from a brain that lost its wires long ago.

  9. Don’t hold back Renai, tell us what you really think of it :-D.

    Good analysis.

    • Its not as silly as it seems though. For starters, it gets rid of copper, the biggest flaw in FttN. It introduces other flaws (contention and OPEX off the top of my head), but what it does is turn the solutions into endgame technology, not necessarily broad infrastructure.

      Wont happen, but its definitely something new in whats become a stale argument that just goes in circles.

      • Biggest issue for it (IMHO) is that it has all the flaws of the FttN (flood and fire), plus the flaws of wireless (someone else mentioned rain and hail….they both affect radio waves). When I was much younger and living in FNQ (Shute Harbour, just out of Airlie Beach), the only days we could get Mackay TV was when the wind was blowing from the south (seriously :-/).

        People that think “wireless” is the answer are idiots.

        • Oh, not saying its a good idea, just that its not AS silly as it sounds. It does solve some of the FttN dramas we constantly bitch about.

          Again, I cant see it happening, and the other issues it brings in (simplest being OPEX) are just as big a problem as what gets ‘solved’ but dont just shoot it down without considering what it could mean elsewhere.

          What about this for fixed wireless areas, or satellite?

          • take it from someone with experience working for an ISP with a ~60 tower metro WiMax network, wireless is a lot harder than it sounds, especially in a metro setting, this “idea” would actually introduce more problems than it solves by bypassing the copper leadins.

          • Yeah, I know, which is why I said it introduces more problems that it solves :)

            But what about non-metro areas. That last 7% that gets fixed wireless or satellite. Is this something that could work for them to give them a better connection?

            Not metro, urban.

            And again, I dont think its a good idea, but there may be circumstances where it isnt the worst option.

          • I just don’t get why she would run fibre all the way out into the urban/suburban nodes (hundreds of nodes? Dozens at least) rather than just build a couple of towers.

            The only real use case I can see is for greenfields where they have no existing landline? Why would she add more cost to add WiFi when there is already existing copper which is now a sunk cost?

          • Copper doesn’t care about hill’s! Dammit, now your getting me to sound like Reality o.0

  10. “Sorry Pauline but you don’t want to support Turnbull’s MTM…”
    “Please explain?”
    “Well you see… Nodes have a halal certification”

  11. “This launch event appears to be much more about promoting a local business in Queensland, rather than providing actual policy options for the NBN.”

    This! Maybe on the basis of them being a campaign donor/backer?

  12. This is ridiculous. But then so are suggestions that using 5G will solve the problem. Still can’t even get a 3G phone signal where I live! Or that matter terrestrial digital TV. When, if ever, will we? At this rate, never!

    • +1

      Hell, 5g will have even less penetration than 4g (using much higher frequencies), how many more towers are they going to need to even cover the same area???

  13. You have to remember that actual people voted for her….

    *Leaves that bombshell and quietly walks out the door*

      • well the ‘billionaire’ didn’t work out for em last time so now we’re full circle lol.

      • well the ‘billionaire’ didn’t work out for em last time so now we’re full circle lol.

        I’m not a fan of his, but he did stop some of the worst legislation the LPA put forward. Credit where it’s due, and all that…

        • “I’m not a fan of his, but he did stop some of the worst legislation the LPA put forward. Credit where it’s due, and all that…

          That’s a very good point as it also demonstrates how extreme the “Liberal” party became, especially under TA.

          Regardless of where one leans, when a billionaire miner thinks legislation is too harsh on the average Aussie, but the government doesn’t (would like to go harsher?) surely we can all agree that there’s something amiss?

          • It’s not just harsh laws, we need them to stop dumb stuff like the LPA thinking trickle down economics will repair the budget.

            Australians aren’t stupid, they know if the govt cuts $50b in taxes to corporations, they’ll need to make massive cuts elsewhere to make up for it.

          • Quick thing on the $50b in tax cuts. What do people think they would do?

            Put it this way, if a company is paying $1m in tax, the 3% being offered would return $30,000. To be paying $1m in tax, they need a profit of roughly $3m. Profit, not turnover. So turnover is going to be $10m at least.

            Do people think that a business with $10m in turnover relies on a $30,000 improvement in their tax position?

  14. “Because the transmitter runs on radio frequencies, you will experience perfect connectivity rain, hail or shine.”

    I suspect she’s never relied upon a wireless Internet connection in wet weather.

    With respect to Renai, this is not bullshit. This is batshit crazy.

    This makes me want to bang my head against something hard, but only because I’d get into trouble if I stated whose head I REALLY want to knock.

    • so the CEO of the only company pushing this stuff went all in on lobbying Pauline and installed a line to her residence ? figured maybe that this exposure would get a tonne of businesses buying ? I can’t think of another explanation

  15. Someone should remind her that all the wireless equipment is made by Asians, that will change her mind pretty quick.

  16. We are getting ridiculous in Australia with politicians opining on NBN technical matters…what’s next….when I walk past a beggar in the city he’s gonna start telling me about his ideas for “faster, cheaper” NBN infrastructure??

    I say, unless you hold a telco engineering qualification, then GTFO!

    • We are getting ridiculous in Australia with politicians opining on NBN technical matters…what’s next….when I walk past a beggar in the city he’s gonna start telling me about his ideas for “faster, cheaper” NBN infrastructure??

      While he sadly states he could have formed a stable majority government!

    • It’s not like “racist stupid moron” senators didn’t exist before Hanson got elected, heck, the LPA is full of them!

  17. “In any case, I have no doubt that Hanson personally has no idea”

    The remainder, of the words, is redundant.

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