What Happened With The NBN This Week?


These days, the debate around the National Broadband Network is less about what shape the network should actually take and instead about the cost, how it’s being deployed and what various talking heads have to say about the project. This week we found out about significant deployment delays on multiple fronts, but you could be forgiven for not actually seeing them underneath the grubbiness of the debate between politicians and journalists alike.

This morning we found out via an AFR exclusive that the National Broadband Network Company (NBN Co) is reportedly about to intervene in the Northern Territory to prevent further delays to the fibre deployment at the hands of contractor Syntheo.

You may remember Syntheo from a few weeks ago when NBN Co CEO Mike Quigley told a Senate Estimates committee that the primary contractor was experiencing undisclosed delays. Now the NBN Co is considering taking over its job so that it doesn’t get put behind. The full piece is definitely worth a read.

Meanwhile, NBN Co signed contracts to blast two of its satellites into space this week in what has to be the nerdiest piece of NBN news so far.

You could be forgiven for not seeing either of those very important news stories this week, not because of the bluster coming from both political parties about the NBN, but because of the in-fighting going on amidst scribes penning articles about the NBN.

The Australian today for example thought it would be Page 3-worthy to attack the ABC’s Technology and Games editor, Nick Ross, over his very detailed NBN coverage. It then brought in an anti-NBN commentator to tear Ross’ report to shreds. The Aus is no fan of either the ABC or the NBN, but this is just grubby.

NBN battles continued amongst IT scribes this week after a report from Ry Crozier over at iTNews about NBN Co “fudging” numbers to expand its roll-out. It’s a number-heavy report, but for some reason Renai LeMay of Delimiter seems to be making it his own personal mission to be contrarian and “fact-check” the piece.

Here’s hoping we don’t have so much in-fighting next week.


The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

It’s the most popular NBN speed in Australia for a reason. Here are the cheapest plans available.

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