[AusNOG] NBN’s $800 million Optus network might need to be rebuilt

[Skeeve Stevens]

They could have just asked us... we would have told them how bad it was.

...Skeeve

From:
http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/nbn/nbns-800-million-optus-network-might-need-to-be-rebuilt/news-story/058b1a409439b2d0b797bda37aec4ed7

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MALCOLM Turnbull and the NBN have spent $800 million on a network that
almost completely needs to be rebuilt.

As part of the Coalition government’s multi-technology National Broadband
Network, the government bought Optus’s ageing hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC)
cable network, which was originally rolled out in the 1990s for pay TV, for
$800 million.

But leaked documents obtained by Fairfax Mediareveal the government is
planning to replace that $800 million network at a cost of an extra $375
million.

The documents claim that the Optus HFC network is “not fit for purpose” and
nearing the end of its life, while other parts of it are simply already
oversubscribed and wouldn’t be able to deliver on the speeds promised by Mr
Turnbull and his government.

These new plans would see the Optus network rebuilt with either Telstra’s
HFC or fibre-to-the-node technology, which was originally planned for 38
per cent of the network. On top of the huge cost blowout, which is already
expected to be $15 billion over budget, the NBN will be missing the rollout
targets of 633,000 premises in 2017 and 2018, which will now have to wait
until 2019 at the earliest to be connected.

An initial agreement was made between the NBN and Optus in 2012, where it
was approved by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission under
the grounds that the government could gradually decommission Optus’s HFC
and replace it with fibre-to-the-premises broadband connections.

The existing network needed upgrades and it was deemed commercially
unviable for Optus to do that work and maintain it.

Despite this, the deal was revised in 2015 the government would keep
Optus’s HFC network in use and make upgrades where needed for the same $800
million price tag.

Opposition communications spokesman Jason Clare slammed the findings of the
document, saying it showed “more evidence of the absolute mess that Malcolm
Turnbull has created with his second-rate NBN”.

“It reveals that the Optus HFC network, a key component of Malcolm
Turnbull’s second-rate NBN, is in far worse condition than Australians were
led to believe and NBN Co is considering overbuilding the network — costing
hundreds of millions and meaning hundreds of thousands of Australians will
have to wait longer to get the NBN,” Mr Clare said.

Optus said that it always acknowledged the HFC network needed major
investment to manage subscriber growth and capacity demand.

A statement from NBN Co said the corporate plan had accounted for the ebbs
and flows of the project.

“NBN has met or exceeded all targets over the past 18 months and we remain
confident in our long range plan and the various strategies we have in
place to manage the risk,” the statement said.

“Nearly 1.5 million homes and businesses can now order an NBN service and
nearly 700,000 are connected.

“In order to manage risk NBN regularly prepares for multiple scenarios in
the network deployment — the document concerned is part of that ongoing
approach of risk mitigation.”

“Our corporate plan has accounted for the ebbs and flows expected in a
project of this scale.

“NBN has met or exceeded all targets over the past 18 months and we remain
confident in our long range plan and the various strategies we have in
place to manage the risk.

“Nearly 1.5 million homes and businesses can now order an nbn service and
nearly 700,000 are connected. In order to manage risk, NBN regularly
prepares for multiple scenarios in the network deployment - the document
concerned is part of that ongoing approach of risk mitigation.”


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...Skeeve


--

Skeeve Stevens - The ISP Guy - Internet Provider SME

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