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]