On Friday night while you and I were having dinner and preparing to paint the kitchen (that’s what you were doing on Friday night, wasn’t it?), the Senate was staying back after class to try and get its homework done. And by homework, I mean passing bills key to rolling out the NBN.
Firstly, NBN Co now has a two and a half year extension to complete the rollout of the national network, meaning that the last house should be connected by December 2020. Rather than being a result of slow rollout however, this is due to a change in the planned rollout, and an additional 1000 homes being added to the planned fibre connection.
Secondly, NBN Co will be allowed to sell the network directly to utilities, which completely goes against the whole “NBNCo is a a wholesaler only” message the government was pushing out.
The third key amendment – and te first that didn’t really go the government’s way – concerns the ACCC. Conroy wanted to legislate that the ACCC needed to get approval from NBN Co in order to change any of the points of interconnect as part of the NBN rollout. Which is a complete mockery of role of a regulator, when you think about it. Fortunately, the Greens, Senator Xenephon and the Coalition shut that amendment down.
Who else can’t wait for the NBN to actually be built, and no longer kicked around as a political football?
cam
Monday, March 28, 2011 at 9:04 AMthey should just can the NBN in it’s entirety and save us all a bunch of money.
Mik
Monday, March 28, 2011 at 9:49 AMOr, we could move forward as a Country.
Edward Luck
Monday, March 28, 2011 at 10:00 AMSays the man already using a 100Mb/s cable connection and saying “stuff the rest of you lot”, no doubt.
Peter Simpson
Monday, March 28, 2011 at 10:53 AM@Edward Or someone who just doesn’t understand the importance of solid infrastructure. This should help small startups as well as big business, all the while ensuring everyone gets a fair go.
matt
Monday, March 28, 2011 at 10:28 AMdo these trolls just search NBN on the net or something to find their way here?
anyway, this “the NBN Co it totally just going to be the next Telstra” argument is worrying, getting more credibility by the hour…
surely the gov has no faith in it if they are so eager to sell it off to someone else???
Andrew Mills
Monday, March 28, 2011 at 9:43 AM“…meaning that the last house should be connected by December 2020.”
Between 10 and 2? What day should I be home?
Cameron
Monday, March 28, 2011 at 11:11 AMI think the NBNCo being allowed to sell direct to utilities is a bad idea. The original idea behind it is probably innocent enough, allowing utilities to get access to wholesale fibre networks, but that one little crack in legislation make it easy for it to be widened later down the track. The more people who have access to this wholesale network the worse it will be for ISP trying to resell it, how can they compete with the wholesale rate? It could very well start down the track of Telstra all over again.
Travis New
Monday, March 28, 2011 at 11:14 AMLooking forward to OnLive 2 :D
JT...
Monday, March 28, 2011 at 1:22 PM“Firstly, NBN Co now has a two and a half year extension”
Already with an extension and they haven’t even started yet. I’m all for the NBN but I very much doubt this will be the first extension.
Reynauld Adsett
Monday, March 28, 2011 at 1:27 PMWhy does this all remind me of the Pacific highway upgrade? 40 yrs of some saying “but we have a road. What do we need a highway for?” Politcal football between NSW, QLD & Federal all arguing over funding while others are wishing the nations infrastructure would be upgraded to a modern standard. I hope NBN doesn’t take as long.
LucasF
Monday, March 28, 2011 at 4:59 PMI cannot wait until we have a world class fiber broadband network. I understand some peoples skepticism governments generally are outrageously good at wasting money. At least we will have a tangible result from the money that is spent I am sure it will bring many benefits. Bring it on, before Australia becomes a 2nd and then 3rd world country.