[LINK] NBN Wireless?

[stephen at melbpc.org.au]

Briefly, as one of many Aussies whose country town does not crack the NBN
required minimum number for cable we will apparently receive NBN wireless.

How this will actually work in practice is a mystery to me, as we do have
one perfectly splendid Optus tower in town, which is reliably radiating & 
collecting a five-bar power phone-and-data signal. So I wonder what's the
NBN going to do? Set up data-only resources in competition? Rent existing
Optus resources, give the same speed data-service, and then, charge more?

How are either of these economically viable or even especially desirable?

Whatever, one does wonder what will happen. Especially as today the good
Senator claims that NBN services will be faster than metro-centre ADSL2+

So, what will happen, and how, is all a mystery to me. Any Linker advise?

(Alhough I must say, when our Senator claims "this is a quantum leap for 
broadband service" it's a bit of a worry. Quantum Leaps are the SMALLEST
distance imaginable .. the distance electrons jump from one energy level
to another when emitting photons of light. So one hopes that's not true)


"NBN Co doubles wireless, satellite speeds"

By Josh Taylor | February 5, 2013 -- 20:30 GMT (07:30 AEST) 

<www.zdnet.com/au/nbn-co-doubles-wireless-satellite-speeds-7000010872/>

Summary: The maximum download and upload speeds for fixed-wireless and 
satellite services on the National Broadband Network have been more than 
doubled to 25Mbps down and 5Mbps up, the Australian government has 
announced. 

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has announced that the maximum 
download speeds on offer on the fixed-wireless and satellite services on 
the National Broadband Network will be more than doubled from 12 megabits-
per-second (Mbps) down and 1Mbps up to 25Mbps down and 5Mbps up.

The two services are scheduled to be up and running in 2015, and will 
serve the last seven percent of premises not covered by the NBN fibre 
rollout.

Conroy told ABC's AM program this morning that, following a series of 
tests, NBN Co would offer the 25Mbps/5Mbps service on the fixed wireless 
service in June this year, and on the satellite service once it has 
launched in 2015.

"This is a quantum leap for broadband services in the most remotest areas 
of Australia. It's currently at 12 meg down, 1 meg up. But what we're 
able to confirm now following all the testing is that we'll be deploying 
25[Mpps] down and 5[Mbps] up for our fixed wireless network," he told AM.

"And what's very exciting is that our satellite network will also be able 
to deliver to the most far-flung Australians a 25 meg download and 5 meg 
upload speed is about the best in the world — a better service than ADSL 
2+ in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and the metro centres."

Currently, NBN Co has an interim satellite service in place that has a 
maximum of 6Mbps down speed.

As of the end of December 2012, a total of 23,100 are on NBN Co's interim 
satellite service, while 1,000 are connected through the fixed-wireless 
long-term evolution portion of the network.

We will update this story when more details are available
--

Cheers,
Stephen