[LINK] Australia begs residents to accept free fiber connection

[Richard Chirgwin]

IANAL but ...

If the Telstra agreement gets actually executed, then I guess the idea 
would be to take advantage of pre-existing easements. In which case, no 
new legislation.

I would guess that a Federal Act would suffice, since Telstra has the 
right to make repairs to / replace equipment.

But this (ie, Tasmania) is a trial rollout, begun before NBN Co / 
Telstra reached agreement (which hasn't been signed yet). So without the 
full legislative program for the country in place, they're asking 
permission, and not everybody wants the fibre.

I don't think it's particularly negligence on the part of the 
government; it was difficult getting anything through the Senate.

RC

Kim Holburn wrote:
> On 2010/Jul/31, at 10:47 AM, Richard Chirgwin wrote:
>
>   
>> In other headlines:
>> Government shamefully fails to pass enabling legislation for the NBN
>> while in caretaker mode
>>     
>
> Government failed to notice the need to pass enabling legislation for  
> NBN
>
> There FTFY
>
> Actually, which government would need to pass this?  Federal state or  
> local?
>
>
>   
>> and
>>
>> Ars Technica can't be bothered with research
>>
>> RC
>>
>> Kim Holburn wrote:
>>     
>>> http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/07/australia-begs-residents-to-accept-free-fiber-connection.ars
>>>
>>>
>>>       
>>>> Australia begs residents to accept free fiber connection
>>>>
>>>>         
>>>       
>>>> If your government had decided to install a national, open-access
>>>> fiber-to-the-home network to 93 percent of all residents, if the
>>>> installation was free, and if the fiber hookup had no effect on your
>>>> existing phone or cable service and committed you to nothing...
>>>> wouldn't you take it?
>>>>
>>>> Not if you live in Tasmania, where the Australian government's
>>>> ambitious new National Broadband Network is getting underway with
>>>> its first fiber deployments. The government-created NBN Co. has the
>>>> right to dig up streets and trench along rights-of-way, but to
>>>> install that "last-mile" connection to a home or apartment it needs
>>>> permission—and Tasmanians have been slow to offer it.
>>>>
>>>> According to local news accounts, only half of the homes and
>>>> business in the first dig zone have given permission to access their
>>>> property. That led to this week's rather pathetic press release from
>>>> NBN Co. in which the CEO basically begged "residents and businesses
>>>> within the Willunga and Kiama First Release Sites to sign up."
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>         
>>>       
>>>> But people's reluctance to sign consent forms could add serious
>>>> costs and delays to the entire project. And if everyone will be
>>>> hooked up eventually, why not just make the fiber installations
>>>> mandatory now?
>>>>
>>>> That's the direction in which Australia is moving. Conroy and the
>>>> Tasmanian Premier, David Bartlett, are now both talking about ways
>>>> to shift to an "opt-out" model in which the NBN Co. has the right to
>>>> install on your property unless you explicitly object.
>>>>
>>>> Opposition figures in Tasmania have been pushing the idea for more
>>>> than a month. "I am sure there would be plenty of people that would
>>>> not want the government rolling up onto their property and
>>>> installing fibre without permission," said MP Michael Ferguson.
>>>> "Nonetheless it would be an enormous cost to the community if we
>>>> only do get half of our homes connected to the fibre."
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>         
>>>
>>>       
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