Hi What is the expected lifetime of the repaired copper v fibre to the premises? Janet
On 3 December 2015 at 07:34, Andy Farkas <an...@andyit.com.au> wrote: > Professor Rod Tucker does some numbers: > > <https://theconversation.com/what-will-the-nbn-really-cost-51562 > <https://theconversation.com/what-will-the-nbn-really-cost-51562>> > > Unfortunately he wrote that before this new leak: > > < > http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/nbn-co-faces-new-network-blowout-bill-on-copper-repair/story-e6frgakx-1227631747650 > > > > %%% > The company building the government’s National Broadband Network is facing > a $640 million bill to repair and replace parts of the decrepit copper > network it > bought from Telstra to underpin the nation’s biggest-ever infrastructure > project. > > Confidential NBN documents obtained by The Australian reveal the company is > looking at a tenfold blowout on what it originally thought it would cost to > remediate the old copper network that forms the basis of the Coalition’s > fibre-to-the-node rollout. > > The leaked documents for the first time reveal the cost that the NBN > will incur > to fix the copper network it bought from Telstra last year in an $11.2 > billion deal. > > NBN expects to spend $26,115 per node to fix Telstra’s copper lines to > ensure it > can deliver the speeds and service quality promised for Malcolm Turnbull’s > mixed-technology network. > > The documents make a mockery of the assumptions contained in a 2013 > strategic review, prepared after the Coaliton won power, which put the > cost of > remediating copper connections at just $2685 for each node. > > Each node is a small fridge-sized, fibre-connected box that sits on > street corners > and connects to Telstra’s copper network to deliver super-fast > broadband speeds > to homes and businesses. > > With the NBN planning to build 24,544 nodes by the end of 2019 — each of > which > will connect up to 178 premises — the total bill to fix faulty copper > lines will be > about $641m. The documents also reveal that a further $520m is expected > to be > incurred by NBN for connecting “high-cost premises”, which are homes and > businesses located at unusually large distances from nodes. > > The NBN distanced itself from the figures in the documents, saying they > were a > draft that had not been endorsed by the executive committee of the company. > > A spokesman for the NBN said any costs to remediate the copper network were > contained in its cost projections for FTTN connections, which come in at > $2300 > per premise. In comparison, the cost to connect homes and businesses to the > fibre-to-the-premise network favoured by Labor was $4400 for each site. > > Once construction of the NBN is complete in 2020, about 38 per cent of > homes > and businesses will be passed by the FTTN network, 20 per cent will be > passed > by FTTP and 34 per cent will be passed by what used to be Telstra’s and > Optus’s > cable networks. > > While the NBN’s technology mix was supposed to be vastly cheaper to deploy, > the company revealed in August that construction costs would be increased > to > between $46bn to $56bn, up from its original estimate of $41bn. > > The internal NBN documents warn that download and upload speeds on the > network could suffer if remediation work is not completed. This would > create > additional burdens on connecting premises and hamper timely migration to > the new network. > > “(The) state of the copper network is considerably worse than expected, > leading to extensive work beyond the node,” the documents say. > > The documents describe the possibility that the task of fixing the copper > network could be of a greater magnitude of risk, which is “almost certain” > to occur. > > With remediation works added in, the cost of each node is $244,150 which > is about 2.3 times the $104,762 price assumed in the 2013 strategic review. > > The revelation of the expensive copper remediation costs will raise > questions > about the NBN’s due diligence process and disclosures by Telstra when the > two parties signed their $11.2bn deal for transfer of the copper network. > > In August, about eight months after NBN and Telstra signed off on that > deal, > NBN chief executive Bill Morrow said the company still did not fully > know the > quality of the copper network and how much it would cost to remediate. > > “Malcolm Turnbull bought back the copper network John Howard sold and > remarkably, he didn’t even do his due diligence to see what kind of shape > it > was in,” said opposition communications spokesman Jason Clare. > > There has been much criticism of the government’s decision to go with FTTN, > with critics arguing Telstra’s old copper network is too old and rundown to > deliver the broadband speeds that will be needed in the future. > > Despite this, FTTN trials have produced good results for the NBN, > delivering > download speeds of 100Mbps and upload speeds of 40Mbps for residents who > live within 400m of a node. > > The release of NBN’s copper remediation costings is the second damaging > leak > to come from within the government-funded network builder in just a week. > > Last week it was revealed the NBN had drawn up plans to replace the Optus > cable network in a move that could cost the project $375m and make it miss > its 2017 and 2018 connection targets. > > The NBN paid $800m in 2012 for the Optus hybrid-fibre coaxial network — > which is used to deliver broadband and pay-TV services — but the company > has since discovered that large portions of the network are in such poor > condition that they will need to be replaced to deliver super-fast internet > access speeds. > > Minister for Communications Mitch Fifield said the NBN had a solid track > record under the Coalition. “The multi-technology NBN rollout will require > around $30 billion less in peak funding compared to reverting to a > fibre-to-the-home plan and it will be finished by 2020,” he said. > %%% > > -andyf > > _______________________________________________ > Link mailing list > Link@mailman.anu.edu.au > http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link > _______________________________________________ Link mailing list Link@mailman.anu.edu.au http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link
