Labor’s NBN: Don’t Expect it if You’re in New Housing
The National Broadband Network’s third progress report to Parliament confirms its dismal failure to deliver timely broadband and communications to Australians living in new housing estates.
The report reveals only 110 premises in new developments were actually connected to the NBN at the end of last year.
Yet NBN Co’s 2011-2013 Corporate Plan states that by June there will be 132,000 premises in such areas using the network.
The latest NBN progress report, which covers the six months from 1 July to 31 December 2011, underscores that NBN Co has again utterly failed to keep up with demand for connections in new or ‘greenfields’ areas.
When NBN Co reported on the rollout for the same six-month period of 2010, its submission stated that it was on track to connect up 40,000 premises in new estates[1]:
“Since 1 January 2011 NBN Co has received 1,804 development applications representing more than 146,608 premises. For this fiscal year we expect to pass approximately 65,000 lots and connect approximately 40,000 premises. These numbers are of course subject to actual demand.”
A year later, not only has the number of active applications for connections fallen 25 per cent, but NBN Co has connected only 0.3 per cent of the houses it was scheduled to connect by June 2011:
“As at 31 December 2011, NBN had received 2,956 applications from developers, with 1,988 active applications covering 109,988 lots. As at 31 December 2011, there were 110 premises receiving active services.”[2]
Before Senator Conroy upended the sector, greenfields communications infrastructure in Australia was a thriving market served by numerous competitive and efficient private players. Even his Department has acknowledged as much.
But Senator Conroy’s ill-considered decision to assign exclusive responsibility for rolling out infrastructure at greenfields sites with more than 100 lots to his taxpayer-funded Government-operated monopoly has led to lengthy delays for developers and immense frustration for owners moving into new residences.
It has also damaged most of the small and medium businesses which once competed to install infrastructure.
Ironically, NBN Co’s own projections suggest homes in new greenfields areas will account for about 2 million of the 12 million premises it forecasts the NBN fibre network will pass by 2021.
Parliamentarians on all sides of politics appreciate that the NBN Co’s persistent neglect of new housing estates has created immense difficulties for some residents and hugely overloaded alternative infrastructure such as wireless networks. Regrettably, requests for assistance from these residents are one of the fastest-growing issues in many suburban and regional electorates. Only NBN Co can solve the problem; there is no incentive for other carriers to fill the gap, since NBN Co will simply overbuild and trash their existing infrastructure once it finally does deploy its fibre in an estate.
Senator Conroy must demand that NBN Co urgently resolve this appalling failure of execution.
[1] NBN Co Submission to the Joint Committee on the NBN, available online here.
[2] Third Progress report, p.11
11 Responses to “Labor’s NBN: Don’t Expect it if You’re in New Housing”
This is just plain stupid. Laying fiibre/conduit before the Lawns and footpaths are in, just makes absolute sense…
But then, this is Conroy at his best…
PeterQ, that’s exactly what is happening.
It is not NBN Co which is laying the conduits, the developers (should they choose NBN co to do the rollout in their estate) are responsible for the pit and pipe, and they install it before lawns/footpaths etc.
Once the estate is ready for connection, the NBN contractor runs the fibre through the pit and pipe, and connects it all.
Economics 101 – monopolies do not provide the same outcomes as competitive markets. A monopoly will provide fewer goods at a higher price.
There is a simple solution.
Allow NBN infrastructure to be built and by companies other than NBN Co, to the standards and specifications of NBN Co. If NBN Co then wishes to acquire that network, it may do so at a mutually agreed price. If no price can be agreed, then an independent arbiter can make a ruling. The price should take into account the fact that NBN Co has the monopoly right to acquire and will this be lower than the price set in a competitive market but should still provide a reasonable ROR to the vendor.
Profitable networks will be established quickly. Unprofitable ones will be left to N B N Co to set up. As it acquires the profitable networks, it can use these profits to cross subsidize unprofitable areas.
in the case of infrastructure competitive markets fail to provide an equal situation for the maximum amount of users.
competitive markets only leverage areas that they calculate to be profitable, leaving area’s of relatively low profit left with little to no service, which has shown a lot in the telecomunications industry after the privatisation of telstra.
telco’s failed to keep Australian infrastructure competitive on a world scale because of the competitive markets, not in spite of it.
But Senator Conroy’s ill-considered decision to assign exclusive responsibility for rolling out infrastructure at greenfields sites with more than 100 lots…
This is absolute hogwash, and you know it.
NBN Co is the provider of last resort. They absolutely do not have “exclusive responsibility”. Developers are free to choose NBN Co or any of the large number of private fibre builders to do the network in their development.
Before the NBN, Telstra was the provider of last resort.
The only difference now is the charging model. Developers have a choice: They can install pit and pipe themselves, then NBN co will install the fibre for free, or they can contract a private supplier to construct the pit, pipe and network under whatever terms that private provider operates under.
Stop making stuff up, Malcolm.
More lies from the coalition
MALCOM TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT THE COALITION FARCICAL BROADBAND
Its good that Malcolm has at least seen the light and seems to be now suggesting ways we can improve the NBN and improve the way it is rolled out. It’s good to see he has a different opinion to that of Tony Abbot who last I heard wanted to stop the rollout all together. Malcolm..when are you challenging Tony?! The sooner the better!
Malcolm Challenge Abbott
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Yes, make sure new housing is covered well.
In fact I’d like to see the coalition demand that those with slow or no broadband be wired up before areas that have 2 options already, with telstra ADSL, or competitor HFC and VDSL.
lyme disease symptoms…
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