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

Thu Nov 26 10:03:00 EST 2015

Australian Cable TV installers in 2013 were paid around $100 to run a drop
cable from the pole to the premises AND install it to the STB in the lounge
room. There's even a Facebook page about how little they were paid. 10
years ago it was as low as $45, and they had to supply materials. Compare
that to cost-per-premises run rates for FTTH.

One of the benefits that isn't well known about HFC is that it can also
provide power to devices. Current AEMO rules make it difficult to attempt
to run simple devices from AC power in the street. In a world where Smart
City and IOT is a thing, copper connections may well have a revival as they
are re-used to put battery-less sensors anywhere and everywhere.

John

On 26 November 2015 at 07:49, Skeeve Stevens <skeeve+ausnog at theispguy.com>
wrote:

> But... one of the things I've always said about HFC... the cost is in
> getting from the Pole to the Premises.  Everything else is easily
> upgradable.  So, in hindsight, as NBN I still would have bought it, just
> maybe paid a lot less.
>
>
> ...Skeeve
>
>
> --
>
> Skeeve Stevens - The ISP Guy - Internet Provider SME
>
> Email: skeeve at theispguy.com ; Cell: +61(0)414 753 383
> Skype: skeeve; Blog: TheISPGuy.com <http://theispguy.com/> ; Facebook:
> TheISPGuy <https://www.facebook.com/theispguy>
>
> Linkedin: /in/skeeve <http://www.linkedin.com/in/skeeve> ; Expert360:
> Profile <https://expert360.com/profile/d54a9>
>
>
> On Thu, Nov 26, 2015 at 6:14 AM, Robert Hudson <hudrob at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Those were my thoughts exactly Skeeve. The Optus HFC network has been in
>> a disgraceful state for years, and anyone who's had any involvement with it
>> knew that.
>>
>> Great to see that NBN did the appropriate levels of due dilligence before
>> handing over so much money...
>> On 26 Nov 2015 12:38 am, "Skeeve Stevens" <skeeve+ausnog at theispguy.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> 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
>>>
>>> ===
>>> 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.”
>>>
>>>
>>> ===
>>>
>>>
>>> ...Skeeve
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> Skeeve Stevens - The ISP Guy - Internet Provider SME
>>>
>>> Email: skeeve at theispguy.com ; Cell: +61(0)414 753 383
>>> Skype: skeeve; Blog: TheISPGuy.com <http://theispguy.com/> ; Facebook:
>>> TheISPGuy <https://www.facebook.com/theispguy>
>>>
>>> Linkedin: /in/skeeve <http://www.linkedin.com/in/skeeve> ; Expert360:
>>> Profile <https://expert360.com/profile/d54a9>
>>>
>>>
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