Conroy: Turnbull wants to lock Australia into a 13Mbps NBN world
- 03 August, 2011 16:43
- Comments 8
If Australia adopted New Zealand’s National Broadband Network (NBN) model, the average download speed delivered to Australian households would be a meagre 13Mbps, according to Communications Minister, Senator Stephen Conroy.
Shadow Communications Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has been singing the praises of New Zealand’s national broadband plans and did so again in his address to the National Press Club today.
Despite the difference in geography and population, he has been comparing New Zealand’s NBN to the one in Australia, claiming Australia has been “completely and utterly outdone by our Kiwi cousins on broadband”.
New Zealand is using a mixture of fibre-to-the-home (FTTH), fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) and existing copper communications infrastructure while Australia is deploying a mainly FTTH network with wireless and satellite services thrown in.
Of course, New Zealand’s NBN, also known as Ultra Fast Broadband (UFB), is a fraction of the cost of Australia’s NBN but it is important to note the population difference is four million and 22 million respectively.
According to Senator Conroy, Turnbull has been claiming theoretical speeds on New Zealand’s copper networks are around 75Mbps for downloads and 50Mbps for uploads but to compare them to the local NBN is misleading.
“Malcolm needs to explain that is done through a bonded copper pair; two coppers going into homes,” Senator Conroy said at an AIIA media briefing in Sydney. “You cannot deliver those speeds on a single copper in the homes since the vast majority of Australian copper is a single copper line to the home.
“So if you take out that little sleight of hand by Malcolm, you then get what speeds are actually being delivered in New Zealand.” Conroy claimed New Zealand households which will be using the existing copper network will have an average download speed of around 10-13Mbps, which is confirmed by information released by Crown Fibre Holdings, the company responsible for accelerating the the UFB rollout.
Fibre is capable of up to 100Mbps download speeds.
“So Malcolm wants to lock us into a 13Mbps world, whereas... productivity comes from far beyond 13Mbps download speeds,” Conroy said. “We’re not even going to bother talking about the upload speeds when it comes to this sort of network.”
In case anybody was curious, the upload speeds on the UFB copper network is around 850kbps.
Turnbull has put forward the Coalition’s own NBN plans which involves using a mixture of fixed-line and wireless technologies to deliver a superfast broadband network ‘faster and cheaper’ than Labor’s version.
Upgrading existing HFC networks plays a part in his plans and he promised he would not rip up existing fibre infrastructure already laid down by NBN Co and Telstra’s structural separation will still be on the agenda.
Turnbull estimates the total cost of the project would be $10 billion.
Conroy scoffed at the Shadow Communications Minister’s NBN plan and said that trying to convince Telstra and Optus to make their HFC networks open access would be near impossible.
“Let’s be clear, the HFC networks have failed to deliver retail competition because they are closed networks,” he said. Conroy highlighted the technological limitations of HFC as well.
“HFC, as it is configured today, can have up to 100Mbps download speeds but only 2Mbps upload,” he said. “It is a shared service and people using it know you can’t upload much and the sort of ubiquity, the sort of applications we are talking about need that degree of upload and download speeds.”
The Communications Minister was also doubtful of the Coalition’s $10 billion NBN, claiming it had not factored in compensation to Telstra and Optus for their HFC networks as well as cost for Telstra’s structural separation.
“He’s got to explain what money he will be paying to Telstra on top of the cost of the build,” Conroy said.
On Turnbull comparing OPEL to the NBN...
In Turnbull’s address to the National Press Club, he claimed the wireless technologies to be deployed for the NBN are the same as those planned for OPEL broadband network, which was canned by the Labor Government in 2008.
The current NBN plan is to rollout fixed wireless and satellite solutions to seven per cent of Australian premises in rural and regional locations.
“Had that scheme not been cancelled... it would today be providing fast broadband to Australians in those [remote] areas,” Turnbull said. But the Coalition is flogging a dead horse, according to Senator Conroy.
“That’s a joke,” he said. “[OPEL] was a dodgy D-grade technology that was not compatible or upgradeable.
“That’s just factually wrong; he should go and do some research.”
The fact OPEL had no spectrum meant it could not propagate more than 1.2km from a tower and this is not comparable to the LTE network which will be rollout out for the NBN, according to Senator Conroy.
“It was a dog and it was one that got put down,” he said.
Nominations for the 2012 ARN IT Industry Awards open on Tuesday, June 12.
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Comments
Nick
Good points here. The address today was utterly ridiculous. None of the journalists at the club didn't know the technicalities (or didn't want to ask for that matter) of what Turnbull was talking about.
What I don't understand however is, what happened to the claims that fibre will be potentially upgradeable to 1Gbps? How come everyone is sticking to the 100 mbps limit?
Spandas Lui
I stick with100Mbps because that was the initial speed that was promised. Sure, theoretically the NBN is capable of 1Gbps but I'll probably continue writing 100Mbps until a RSP announces pricing for a 1Gbps NBN service :)
Michael
You sure you got this the right way around?
"Turnbull has been claiming theoretical speeds on New Zealand’s copper networks are around 75Mbps uploads and 50Mbps downloads"
As for Turnbull's "plan" - who cares. He's changed his tune on the best way to provide equitable broadband services that many times since the Libs lost the election in large part due to the NBN, that most technology people have stopped listening to him.
In any case, any idea that relies on utilising the current copper CAN, and trying to get open access on the HFC networks, is based on the same idiocy that saw Turbull earlier proclaim that wireless is the only way forward because people want mobility. When it comes to technology, the man is a fool.
Learnwhatyourabout
Dont get me wrong I love the fact that we are installing a new fibre infrastructure. I means I am kept busy training people in this industry for quite a few years to come. HOWEVER...
Before people start making comments about what can be done and what cant, they should do their research and have an understanding of the industry.
VDSL2 technologies are currently available that can deliver 100Mbs upload and download within 500 meters of the node. This is quite achievable on our current CAN distribution if the kerbside nodes are located roughly where our current pillars are located .
Telstra currently have installed early implementation VDSL running quite happily at 70Mbs download and 30Mbs upload, and that's a conservative implementation.
Regarding the speeds on fibre, our FTTp installation will be to G.984 GPON standards which specify 2.4 Gbs downstream and 1.2Gbs upstream so at a maximum 64 way passive optical split if all clients are using the service (yes the bandwidth is shared) is 18.75 Mbs or with a 32 way split 37.5 Mbs. Yes the claims that we can get 1 Gbs download are true as long as there are only 2.4 users with sustained 1Gbs downloading at that time. Traffic patterns are taken into consideration so the statement of 100 Mbs is based upon 24 simultaneous users on the PON all at a sustained 100Mbs
Truthful...well not really...but in this industry what we promise is not always what we get...
spandas_lui
@Michael - You're right. Upload and download speeds were reversed. Sorry about that.
All fixed now.
Kevin
When will the Libs just shut up about ABN. As always their attitude is minimum for the masses and maximum for the wealthy.
Most big business, especially those involved in traditional media, do not want the masses to have a high speed Internet and will use everything they can to prevent it as long as they get it.
As soon as 100+ mps is available I or anyone can set up their own TV station and stream it at near HD quality and without having to pay for a license. Internet radio will boom as will online sales. Imagine walking through a virtual supermarket , filling the trolly, checking out and having the goods delivered. Possible now but Optic Fibre makes it bigger, better and easier.
These are some of the things that scare the living daylights out of Big business.
You can bet that these greedy businesses will also do what they can to keep the costs of ABN as high as possible.
Ok I'm ranting but close to the truth
Anonymous
I'm getting a little tired of people giving the fibre network a ceiling.. Yes, NBN Co has stated that they will go as high as 1GB, however, the fibre itself is limited only connectivity at each end. When 40GB is cost effective, there will be an upgrade. When 100GB is cost effective, there will be an upgrade..
The ability for the fibre network to continue to gain in speed, is only limited to the technology. 40GB and 100GB. Nextgen has already shown 100GB working on the same fibre platform..
Source: http://www.arnnet.com.au/article/359648/nextgen_shows_off_100gbps_fibre_speeds_nbn_application/
KC
Look I think MT is off the mark comparing Australia to NZ, so I've basically ignored much of his comments RE that!
However, I do take one thing to task: why articles such as this one make comments like "Despite the difference in geography and population..." in a devaluing manner. Correctly suggesting that we shouldn't compare Australia to vastly different countries.
And yet... the NBN Co's business plans being built on research comparing Australia to vastly different countries like Korea, Hong Kong and Japan.
Either be equally critical or equally accepting.
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