[AusNOG] $300 NBN Connection Fee for FTTP?

[Mark Delany]

> The whole NBN debate has always confused me. Without offsetting the cost
> how would either Government have afforded the NBN? The bill shock from $300
> NDF is annoying to say the least but I've spent >$300 on some pretty stupid
> things in my life and I'm sure there are others who would've paid a lot
> more than $300 to get FTTP/FTTN.

It's mostly "funny money" anway. Roughly speaking premise-owners, future NBN
customers and tax payers are paying one way or the other. The fixed-fee per
premise merely makes it marginally more transparent and serendipitously moves
costs off of NBNCo's books.


> Why all the whinging?

I don't know about others but I wasn't particularly whinging; just noting that
moving costs off of NBNCo is consistent with almost every decision they
make. If lobbying happened to align with this outcome, so much the better, but
don't let that obscure the bigger motive.

Far from whinge about new development fees I've often advocated that *more*
costs be directly imposed on premise-owners. The costing model used by other
utilities could have had NBNCo deliver service to the premise boundary and the
premise-owner pay for delivery into their property. It seems to work for
water, electricity and sewage, so why not internet?

Unfortunately while that model would have eliminated many of the "blow-out"
costs that turned the NBN into a political football, it would have still been
political suicide as not enough voters thought of internet as an essential
utility back then. Voters also vehemently hate direct costs so damned if you
do damned if you don't.


Ironically we've pretty much ended up with a traditional utilities cost model
anyway - just with a worse infrastructure outcome. What with new development
fees, modem costs and most importantly FTTN/FTTC; the MTM not only moves
immediate costs, it also defers brownfield premise upgrade costs and cleverly
moves them onto the books of future premise-owners. Most voters just don't
realise this yet - which I have to admit is an astute political move.


All rather moot I suppose as apparently blockchain-infused 5G is on the verge
of delivering infinite internet everywhere.


Mark.