[LINK] NBN backup service

[Frank O'Connor]

I considered this in a private reply to Jan, on the same thread you quote … when she queried the battery thing … to whit:

"At a guess, and as I said, I have no idea about the design and circuitry in the nodes, in case of power failure you’d need backup power in both the node (hey, the calls will be transmitted through them) and at the premises (where the phone needs to be powered and the line needs to be connected with the node).

And I’m guessing that if the system failed spectacularly (and NBN phone-call routing - VOIP? - died in the ass due to a catastrophic node failure), all those old exchanges/tech that had previously been point-to-point routing our calls and handling our ADSL connections, would need to be in place to transmit the call to the requisite number … which means that many of the efficiencies and resource savings we should expect from the NBN won’t be achieved. (Think of the real-estate benefits to Telstra if the exchanges could be sold off.) But Alas, all those obsolete exchanges will still need to take up real estate, and be powered and maintained … this MTM NBN will be a boon for jobs in the telephone industry.

But I’m sure that’s part of ‘Mr Broadband’s’innovation policy. What a guy!

Anyway, I’m a big one for the el cheapo mobile being provided to those who don’t have one, that can be used in circumstances when all else fails. Anything else is just way too expensive, and unlikely to meet the need in the case of catastrophic failure (truck, car runs over node, bushfire burns it, flood floods it etc etc) when nothing would work.

But, but … that would be impossible.

I mean, ‘Mr Broadband’ is behind this design. He’s taken everything into consideration.

Nah … what was I thinking! We don’t need no stinkin’ backup - We’re the Innovation Nation. Power and technology don’t fail here. Our coal fired network is 'world’s best practice’, Baby!

'Mr Broadband’ says so.”

I suppose the upshot is that the MTM NBN design seems to have a number of flaws that necessitate doubling up on infrastructure, keeping the old tech expensively in play in case failure, and a redundancy strategy in the case of catastrophic failure - that won’t work anyway because of the above-ground open-to-all-manner-of-destruction-amd-damage nodes/terminators.

Bottom line, and I’m eager to be corrected on this, the MTM NBN seems to have have been designed to fail spectacularlyly - especially when it is needed for critical emergency services. Let’s call it the ‘Ooopsie!’ feature - a few deaths due to failure to communicate during the odd natural disaster are just a cost that we need to pay for the wonder of the MTM design. 

It’s gonna be a ‘world’s best practice’ design disaster. Only Australia could have done this. And we should remember that it’s also designed with that terrific innovative flair that is characteristic of 'Mr Broadband’ … so that’s OK. 

Just my 2 cents worth …
---
> On 26 Jan 2016, at 12:21 PM, David Lochrin <dlochrin at d2.net.au> wrote:
> 
> On 2016-01-08 22:06 Bernard Robertson wrote:
> 
>>> [Jan] Let's examine the reason the back-up battery is needed. To operate the phone, right, when the NBN goes out? Which at the moment takes its power from the copper we have now, but won't when we switch to NBN, otherwise it would all still work. So the power goes off. We need a phone for emergencies. If the power is off in the area, what is this phone going to operate across? Aren't those systems also going to be off? We're told we won't have copper PSTN any more, just the NBN. But it needs power to operate.
>>> 
>>> What am I missing in this picture?
>> 
>> The nodes also have batteries; large things that cost money and need maintenance.
> 
> Just a detail, but will those batteries keep all services running (POTS, ADSL, HFC, etc.) so those relying on VoIP will continue to have a voice service?  I wonder for how long?
> 
> I wonder whether any consideration was given to running power from the exchanges?
> 
> David L.
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