[AusNOG] $300 NBN Connection Fee for FTTP?

[Mark Delany]

> It would seem pretty dumb to lay new copper in order to provide FTTN
> when my daughter will probably not want a landline phone. 

New FTTN runs are not connected to PSTN exchanges and thus cannot be used to
provide a "landline" service. They strictly deliver VDSL signals. So the
notion of a landline is irrelevant and unrelated to the provisioning of an NBN
copper service.

You also have to appreciate that most of this "copper" is not the run on your
daughter's block, but the pre-existing runs up and down the streets so it's
not so dumb to extend kilometers of existing copper another 10-20m to reach
your daughter's house.

> It would be cheaper to just say 'connect via fixed wireless' but looking at
> Street View it looks like the fixed wireless tower is hidden behind trees.
> Is this what is likely to happen, that NBN Co run a dedicated fibre from the
> closest node to the new house?

Unfortunately my understanding is that NBNCo go in the opposite direction. If
you're scheduled for fixed wireless and a line-of-sight solution is not
possible then you get moved to satellite.

No offence intended but your email has a whiff of wishful thinking that NBN
have a preference for fibre but the reality is exactly the opposite. If you
look at their annual reports the percentage of fibre coverage declines each
and every year - even though there are 100s of 1000s of new homes being built
over each reporting period. Enough said.

IOWs you should be extremely skeptical of expecting to get fibre unless it is
explicitly stated for an area. And I for one would want to see it actually in
the ground rather than trust coverage maps that can be changed at a whim.


To summarize: the block in question will get what their neighbour gets... or
worse.


Mark.