[AusNOG] Gosford City Council and NBN RSP.

[James Andrewartha]

On Sat, 31 May 2014, Gaurab Raj Upadhaya wrote:

> With the Singapore NBN, a 4-port NTU is installed. I got the 2nd port
> connected for cheap with a 2nd provider, as at that time they offered
> me some additional services (native v6 for one). I can't claim to be a
> general end-user, but from talking to the smaller ISP's tech guys,
> they frequently see consumers signing up for the 2nd port for services
> they offer (like VPN to watch US shows, and dedicated gaming service),
> while keeping the first port with one of the big two, for basic
> service including telephony.

For SMB, a multi-port NTU is equivalent to having multiple copper pairs 
coming in, which is the status quo. I know there's quite a few hosted VoIP 
providers who only provided service over their own DSL circuits, although 
with NBN speeds this is perhaps less of an issue. Many ISPs also sell 
private networks provisioned over DSL or metro ethernet these days, how 
convenient would it be to have your internet on one port, and your company 
WAN go over another?

I've personally experienced a case where a third-party organisation was 
hosting an event on our land, and were sponsored by an ISP. Said ISP 
wanted to provide free, open wireless for the event. Rather than deal with 
our network, they simply provisioned a DSL service for the weekend, 
dropped in a router and AP, then decomissioned it the next week. I also 
know of a company that runs its guest wireless over an ADSL link rather 
than their business fibre.

So yes, I will argue that an FTTP NBN NTU without multiple ports is a step 
backwards for SMBs. How much so this is relevant under MTM NBN where the 
copper will remain is more of an open question.

James