This week: The coalition isn’t happy with the NBN (again), Macquarie signs its NBN paperwork and Netcomm reveals the technology it’ll use for its wireless NBN rollout.
• The coalition came out firing this week, with Malcolm Turnbull issuing a release that suggested that the NBN monopoly would all but guarantee higher prices, although not all commenters were convinced by his argument.[ITWire]
• On Tuesday, there were rumblings that smaller ISPs needed more backhaul before they’d be able to service remote areas with NBN services [ZDNet]
• On Wednesday, the opposition took the NBN battle to the budget carriers in an unusual bit of strategy; the argument seems to be that the budget carriers — which at one time the opposition lauded as proof of how expensive NBN accounts would be — aren’t very good and therefore the NBN won’t be. Or something. [Delimiter]
• The switching off of Telstra’s Cable service took another incremental step forwards, with NBN Co sending a letter (letter? wouldn’t an email have been more apt?) to the ACCC urging it to approve the structural separation of Telstra [SMH]
• Netcomm announced that its contribution to the NBN — having landed the contract for the wireless parts of the NBN last week — would be built on Sequans SQN3000 series 3GPP Rel8 compliant technology. [ITWire]
• Macquarie Telecom began the certification process to become an NBN service provider; it’s been a longtime supporter of the NBN generally, but this was the week that all the paperwork was signed off on. [ARN]
• Thursday’s big news was the departure of the CFO of NBN Co, Jean-Pascal Beaufret. His departure was widely reported and analysed.
• NBN Co also took on a new chief marketing officer, poaching Kieren Cooney from Telecom New Zealand, although he won’t actually start until November.[SMH]
• A group of Liberal party MPs who were on the Joint Select Committee into the NBN dissented from the official report view, labelling it “a political exercise, drumming up supportive testimony in favour of the NBN and resulting in a feel-good report offering support for the roll-out of the NBN” [ZDNet]
Marco
Friday, August 26, 2011 at 3:24 PMAll these news are very interesting but the only thing that I’d like to know about the NBN is: when the hell I’ll have it???
Lance Royce
Friday, August 26, 2011 at 3:54 PMHow much is Gizmodo being paid to run the PR line for the Government?
Rufus
Friday, August 26, 2011 at 4:04 PMAs a tech blog, they support the NBN. Simple as that, really.
Mik
Friday, August 26, 2011 at 4:06 PM???
Why wouldn’t a technology website keep constant updates on one of the biggest tech projects the world has ever seen?
Why do they have to be in the Government’s pocket?
Simon Reidy
Friday, August 26, 2011 at 4:59 PM+1. why is it is so hard for Coalition supporters to understand that most techeads think the NBN is the mot important and exciting project in Government history? It’s not an automatic stamp of approval for everything else the Government is doing.
There are plenty of current policies I don’t support, but if you understand fibre optic technology and have vision for what’s possible on an ubiquitous high speed network for all Australians, it’s hard to not get excited about the incredible new opportunities and applications it will bring.
Gizmodo clearly gets this :)
Chair
Friday, August 26, 2011 at 10:28 PM+1, totally agree.
Lance has no idea.
Despite all the ongoing flaming from the opposition I don’t believe a thing those idiots say. They have no plan for anything, no real policies besides the words coming out of their mouths.. and who believes a politician anyway, right?
brett
Friday, August 26, 2011 at 4:32 PMAt least giz tries to be impartial and discusses both sides of the debate. Maybe u should come and live in regional qld and see how ordinary internet access is compared to people in large cities. Under the libs nothing got done for 10 years at least labour has a plan for ALL of australia.
Kroo
Friday, August 26, 2011 at 10:49 PM+1 Lance. Plenty of IT specialists from around the world agree this governments choices are short sighted at best. You ask any technician worth their salt, and they’ll tell you how antiquated this model will be in 10 years. By then, wireless will have outpaced the mobility of any hardwired installation. Ask the people in Christchurch how long it’s taken to get hardwired internet back. Months. Wireless? HOURS! I don’t read most of the NBN drivel written here. Sycophantic editorials only appeal to those who voted for this dog of a government. Thanks for nothing. At least we’ll have the most expensive cable pits anywhere in the world.
half a brain
Saturday, August 27, 2011 at 5:56 AM- 1 million lance, have you used wireless???? I have a 2 gig Data plan on my iPhone 4 with optus. I barely use 80mb of that per month, not because i don’t want to but because it the slowest POS I have ever had the displeasure of paying $59 per month for 2 years for. I live in Brisbane there is absolutely no excuse for it to be so slow and unusable, but it is slow and unusable for anything but email. If I had to rely on only wireless internet I’d be buying the newspaper again which isn’t a problem for dinosaurs but i’d like to get on board with this tech revolution and not be left behind.
P.S. If you had asked any technician worth his salt he would have told you wireless is terrible, unreliable and cant handle the loads required in 1995 let alone now.
Rhys
Monday, August 29, 2011 at 8:32 AMThe opposition’s idea of wireless internet does not use the wireless tech that is being made available now. All it can offer is tech that is already outdated and as expensive due to it needing retrofitting as soon as it’s installed.
The US are doing it, it’s costing them a mint to, and they know it has it’s limits, and they are well below fibre. GPS’s will not work in some areas of cities with all the interference, do we really want that? I’m all for the NBN, but i’m open to better solutions but wireless is not the answer.
Our data solutions are appauling, and it needs to be fixed now. Don’t ask the paper pushing bastards sitting in government buildings with telstra fibre to the building (I know i work in one), ask the guy down the road that wants to talk to his family on the other side of the world via webcam who’s stuck on a RIM and can’t get telstra to free up a line.
DarthDVD
Friday, August 26, 2011 at 6:04 PMUm… you know since Apple’s CEO quit.
Cant we sign him up as a “paper” CEO… I’m sure Liberial Coalition would fall allover themselfs in indorsing the NBN.
(Yes I am a Android fan boy :P)
tw33kz0r
Friday, August 26, 2011 at 11:37 PMI don’t understand why telstra’s cable is being switched off, surely it would be better for NBN to purchase it and then use it as part of NBN’s infrastructure.
It would have gotten the NBN of to a flying start as (I think) it passes around 5% of the population.
Adam
Saturday, August 27, 2011 at 12:43 PM@tw33kzor
I can’t understand it either, if it was going to be as good as they said it was going to be then they could compete well against lower cost cable. Why this is being left out of the debate by tech heads and the government is beyond me. We are paying WAY to much for something that will be over budget and a business model that is seeking to raise the cost of service by more than the CPI cutting off more and more people to out NBN and deepening the digital. It’s insane, this will not solve all the problems. It’s the most ill thought out, rushed and pathetic attempt at the government doing what it should never do. Bribe us with our own money at an election, nothing has said that this makes economic sense and the government knows it doesn’t. If it did it would have done at least some economic modelling for it. It’s Telstra all over again and we’re going to be another 40 years behind the rest of the world because no one in this sector cares about what comes after fibre or what would be the long term effects of the NBN as it stands.
You stifle competition, nothing gets moving, you fall far behind. They need to do what the Brits did, deregulate and force Telstra and Optus to open their cables to everyone. Either through shame or law this is the policy for the future. Now they get fibre and faster speeds not at the tax payers cost or for the biggest pork barreling this nation has seen with the service being provided to marginal and independent seats.