[LINK] NBN and the last 100 metres

[tomk]

On 22/12/2012 4:09 a.m., Fernando Cassia wrote:
> On Tue, Apr 12, 2011 at 4:10 AM, Tom Koltai <tomk at unwired.com.au> wrote:
>> Now the only problem is how to power the device at the Kerb splice to
>> run to the home or the radio device.  (Sorry Labor, I can't solve all
>> your probs with a single email.)
>>
>> But we keep getting the rest of the NBN. That is a good thing.
> POE (Power Over Ethernet) + a pair of VSDSL2 "Ethernet over copper
> extender" boxes?.
> http://goo.gl/wSajX
>
> Just run cat5e or cat6 to wherever the optical network ends, carrying
> power (POE) from inside the home... :)
>
> Just my $0.02
>
> FC
>
> PS: I agree with Tom Koltai, the govt should encourage the "Let´t get
> this done" attitude wrt the last 100m. Althought I wouldn´t trust
> *any* of my neighbors not to break anything, if given a shovel... ;))
>

boy, that was an old thread.... and you just got around to replying to it ?

Internet Lag in Argentina must be really really bad....

the big advantage of the householder digging their own trench to the 
kerb hasn't really been analysed by Political interests.
i.e.: If the householder digs a trench and lays the pipe to the kerb, 
are they then going to vote for the other side that want to retain the 
copper and not have fibre to the premises ?
Hell no. If the home-owner dug the trench then they are a part of the 
NBN. They own their bit of the NBN and they want to see it finished.
Unfortunately most people don't bother to analyse the strategy behind 
utterances... and totally miss the real gems.

As to the other part of your balanced but late response...  it's more of 
a Tony and Mal thing...  however it should be an Ozzie thing. 
Australians paid for the copper. Twice. Once when it was installed, and 
then when it was privatised. Nobody except Australians [i.e. referendum] 
should be able to vote on the copper being removed.

However, you are quite right,  we could save almost a third of the cost 
of the NBN by utilising VDSL on the copper from the Kerbside MDF boxes.  
In fact I believe that is exactly what Telstra have built with their 
Tophat initiative. the last mile ultra high high speed connection over 
copper.

The question one has to ask when balancing the two approaches is:

Do we prefer the wasteful but valuable new infrastructure approach of 
the current Government or do we want to go back to the bottleneck 
economy damaging Telstra monopoly we used to have.

My 2 cents worth is that if the copper was left in the ground to be a 
competitive option for Australians then the NBN makes far better sense 
economically for the country.
Although both sides of the Political fence argue differently, the value 
of the NBN was never as a profit item. Business plans have no business 
in politics as Politicians are invariably not in power for long enough 
to see the completion of their ambitions. Therefore Poltical parties 
should concentrate on breakling up unhealthy commerce dampening 
monopolies and allowing economies to recover through competitive 
commercialism.
With the NBN the former Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd and the current 
Communications Minister, the right Hon. Steven Conroy have actually 
managed to effect that.
As long as the two KA band satellites are launched, Australia will never 
again be at the mercy of a single nationwide carrier.
Provided:
The copper isn't removed.
The currently NBN owned Spectrum is turned over to Optus with fixed 
(low) pricing guarantees for Wimax and Wifi.
and lastly, a new piece of legislation. The auto-double-dissolution act 
- if, the NBN or the KA Band transponders are sold to Telstra, Optus or 
any other third party carrier affiliated with any other major carrier 
[e.g.: Vodafone, BT, Microsoft, Verizon Google etc etc...]  The act 
should allow for no carrier or Corporate group to be allowed to own more 
than 4.95% of any public float of the NBN as well.

The spread for the NBN IPO should be on the basis that every customer 
automatically is entitled to subscribe for a block of shares.

In this manner Australians will own the infrastructure that their 
Government gave them. Whether or not Australian's choose to retain their 
shareholding is of course the only guarantee of an independently owned 
communications corporation that we have for the future.
I somehow don't believe that the average Australian will care or 
understand.
Sometimes the apathy amongst the population is extremely frustrating. I 
would hate to be  a politician campaigning on actual real issues.

If it doesn't involve hooking up, getting fed or brand name shopping, it 
just doesn't exist for the Y's and the Zed's.
A shame because the thing that makes all of that possible is the network 
that moves the bits and bytes of those restaurant menus, Facebook IM's 
and Paypal check-out shopping carts is the network they really don't 
care about.

History has proven that the most communication capable countries are the 
most financially viable with the highest standards of living, human 
freedoms, and citizen satisfaction levels.
Australia is getting there... but we shouldn't  have a copper removal 
dark ages spell before the renaissance is allowed to kick-in.

I guess it comes down to how our current crop of Political leaders want 
to be thought about in the future. Fondly as in contributors and 
economic facilitators or less fondly.

TomK

That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most 
important of all the lessons of history. ~Aldous Huxley