[LINK] NBN is FTTH

[David Boxall]

On Tue, 07 Apr 2009 at 13:12:53 +1100 Eric Scheid wrote:
> ... it being FTTH (vs FTTN) means the speed
> can be increased very easily just by upgrading the end boxes.
>From 
<http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/biztech/broadband-plan-gets-go-ahead/2009/04/07/1238869956384.html>:
> The Federal Government and private sector will invest up to $43 
> billion over eight years
...
> The fibre-to-the-premise network will run to 90% of homes and 
> businesses. ...
...
> The remaining homes and businesses will be reached via wireless and 
> satellite technologies offering speeds of 12 megabits per second.
...

OK, so it will take 8 years and reach 90% of premises. What happens in 
the interim? What happens at the edges?

Could DSL technologies be employed to provide bandwidth higher than 
wireless can manage beyond the limits of the fibre, both as it pushes 
out and where it eventually stops? I have 9.5 km of copper between my 
home and a RIM (see entry dated Monday, 2 February 2004 in 
<http://david.boxall.id.au/ISDN.html>). It's possible the fibre that 
currently stops at the RIM will be extended to within DSL distance of my 
place. Then again, Telstra owns that infrastructure, so maybe not.

What about other fibre that Telstra's installed over the years (see 
entry dated Friday, 30 January 2004 at the same URL and entries dated 
from 9 August 2003 in <http://david.boxall.id.au/Phone1.html>)? There's 
no commercial incentive for Telstra to donate their asset to a network 
it won't control. Unless the government's going to commandeer it.

Looks like a lot of infrastructure will be duplicated. That seems a bit 
of a waste, but might be the path of least resistance.

Wireless is of limited use in my (mountainous) area. For example, I'm 
less that 3 km from a Telstra tower, but 3G (or NextG) service is weak 
to none. For my neighbours, 100 metres away, it's reliably none.
 
-- 
David Boxall                         | ignorance more frequently
                                     | begets confidence than does
                                     | knowledge
                                     |--Charles Darwin (introduction
                                     |  to 'The Descent of Man' 1871)