National Broadband Network

The demand for the functional, or structural separation, of Telstra has been a very precariously debated and wide spread topic over recent months. If these calls weren't made loud and clear enough back then, you can bet you're bottom dollar that almost everyone who reads online technology news will know about them now as regulatory submissions for the new national broadband network have now been made public by the government.

These submissions came from a variety of sources ranging from internet service providers, individuals, business and corporate entities including the likes of Google and Intel, through to state government departments. Funnily enough, the majority of the submissions all shared a common theme (or should I say suggestion), separate Telstra  either operationally or structurally. The respective submissions (including two from Telstra), will make for interesting reading, especially for those who wish to be further informed on the issues surrounding the national broadband network process and it's regulations.

Industry and public interest groups were invited to provide submissions on regulatory issues associated with the National Broadband Network process.

The Government has reserved the right to not publish submissions or parts of submissions where it considers it appropriate to do so for confidentiality or other reasons.

The views contained in the submissions are those of its authors, and may not represent the views of the Commonwealth or its officers. The Government continues to reserve all of its rights in respect of the Request for Proposals.

Read the Regulatory Submissions at the DBCE

The 2020 Summit was a success for many various reasons such as it raised concerns, sprouted ideas and addressed important issues challenging Australia and it's future prosperity. In the final report of the Summit, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was urged to split the wholesale and retail elements of Telstra in order to obtain a competitive market for the Broadband Industry.

It appears that Telstra has fallen heavily into the structural separation line of fire. What makes a possible separation more evident is the fact that not only are Telstra's competitors calling for a split, highly influential and prominent business people (some of which were in the Summit group) are now also urging the government to perform a structural severing.     

The government should assess the case for vertical separation of the network owner from retail carriers and carriage service providers to promote access," the group's recommendation in the report said.


source: misaustralia.com

In a damning report recently conducted by the Centre for International Economics it was revealed that a Telstra built and managed National Broadband Network would burden the economy by lowering wages, increasing inflation, reducing national growth and raising broadband prices by 15% in which our nation would be $897 million worse off.

Telstra was quick to reply by dismissing the report as 'bogus' although Telstra Wholesale managing director 'Kate McKenzie' failed to note a crucial sentence in the report that read "However, obtaining precision is not the main objective of this analysis. The main point is to show that it is likely that a significant margin exists between Telstra's required return from the FTTN network and the return that an alternative supplier would require for the same asset, and this margin will translate into hardship for the economy and the community."

Report Conclusions:
- Australian consumers and the economy would be $897 million worse off under a Telstra owned and operated National Broadband Network;
- Telstra's targeted return on its capital investment was relatively high and "may be consistent with the abuse of market or monopoly power";
- The build-cost scenarios for Telstra's broadband network would increase inflation, reduce national growth, lower wages and reduce national consumption;
- The impact of Telstra's network would "lead to a general contraction of the Australian economy."

source: itwire.com

Unveiled: Another consortium who coughed up the $5 million bond prescribed by the government and one that's been keeping a very low profile until now, has publicly raised it's hand in the battle for the upcoming national broadband network bid.

"Acacia", made up of prominent Melbourne businesses which include Doug Shears, Leon Kempler and Solomon Lew, says that their bid will alleviate government concerns by making the NBN open and competitive. The key factor residing in Acacia's proposal apparently suggests the network will ultimately be returned to public control (similar to the CityLink project after X amount of years), or possibly a similar role to that of Telstra's which it had once upon a time ago.

There's a "them and us" tussle going on at the top of Australia's IT industry over Telstra's power. The Acacia plans is proposing to return the new, improved part of the network to public hands, or the position Telstra once held. This could be along the lines o, say, Melbourne's CityLink road project, where fees gained over a two-year to 25-year period more than repay the original investment, plus making a tidy profit, before it reverts to public hands.

source: misaustralia.com

Due to delay from Telstra in releasing critical network information for all proponents of the FTTN NBN bid to examine, Senator Stephen Conroy was left with no alternative accept to extend the deadline for proposal submissions until 12 weeks after the information is released.

Telstra had recently provided some information on it's network, however it fell short of the comprehensive information needed. In response to Telstra's sluggish and uncooperative actions, the Government moved to introduce a bill into parliament which will force Telstra to disclose all the relevant network information that's required.

NBN bidders will have 12 weeks to examine network information

The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, today announced that parties participating in the National Broadband Network process will have 12 weeks to consider network information from the date all material is made available.

“In February, I wrote to carriers seeking the voluntary disclosure of network information. All carriers either have or are working towards providing this information in a timely manner and I welcome this cooperative approach,” Senator Conroy said.

“Telstra has provided some network information however despite its best efforts some information is not yet available.”

“The provision of network information is vital to allow potential proponents to build the network to compete on an equal basis.”

“The National Broadband Network represents this nation's single largest investment in broadband infrastructure. It is important that interested parties have adequate time to make use of information about existing infrastructure,” Senator Conroy said.

For this reason the Government will ensure potential proponents will have 12 weeks to consider network information before being required to lodge their proposals. The Government will amend the Request for Proposals to reflect this timetable.

Further information on the National Broadband Network and how to make a submission is available at www.dbcde.gov.au/nationalbroadbandnetwork

source: minister.dbcde.gov.au

Although not made from earth, the name TERRiA is rock solid and has been adopted (less the Firma of course) as the new name for the group of carriers formerly known as the 'G9' (or should I say the G8).

The consortium is made up from Optus, AAPT, iiNet, Internode, Primus, Macquarie Telecom,  SOUL and TransACT with the the ninth member 'PowerTel' now owned by AAPT, and to avoid further discrepencies down the track, it makes timely sense that the group come up with the new name of TERRiA. 

Michael Egan recently announced the new name, which is a contraction of 'Terra Australis', and said that it also phonetically the same as a terrier which eludes to tenacity and energy.  TERRiA also took the opportunity by saying they will develop a structurally separated model, however, had not yet responded to the current version of the NBN RFP.

"We ...like the fact that it's phonetically the same as terrier which hints at the energy and tenacity which will be needed to win the best communication outcome. In a word it sums up both our determination and the scale of the National Broadband Network with the commitment of coverage across the land."

source: itwire

There appears to be no stopping the war over Broadband in Australia with a group of ten leading Australia ISP's taking out a full page newspaper advertisement to promote their new website 'fairgobroadband.com.au'. The new site basically takes a shot at potential Telstra pricing if it were to win the National Broadband Network bid.

AAPT, iiNet, Internode, Macquarie Telecom, Optus, PowerTel, Primus, Soul, Telarus and TransAct are the ISP's who are leading the charge against Telstra and the push on fair pricing for Broadband. Their new site has a very limited menu interface but does in fact have a petition form so that you can voice your concerns to the Government over pricing for the new NBN along with links to a coinciding PDF; a respective speech by Optus CEO Paul O'Sullivan; and a link to the 'Tell the Truth Telstra' site. It appears that these sites, and information on such, have been brought about and developed specifically to counteract in what's been described as the 'Telstra Propaganda' website 'Nowwearetalking.com.au'.

There is a clear and present danger that in its rush to roll out the National Broadband Network (NBN), the Government will give away critical competition and consumer safeguards. This would see Telstra regain its monopoly control of fixed line voice and broadband; drive much higher broadband prices; and in turn keep broadband usage well below its potential. Such an outcome would see Australia fail to secure the true benefits of broadband.

Visit or register your concern by visiting http://www.fairgobroadband.com.au/

After recent talks with Optus-led G9 Consortium, German based Telecommunication group 'Deutsche Telekom' is examining prospects behind partnering G9 for a national broadband network bid. 

Optus chief executive Paul O'Sullivan has also called for the NBN bid deadline to be extended due to proposal submission time restrictions that is being brought about by the legislation that's currently being passed through parliament to force Telstra to release information on it's network.

If the Communications Minister 'Stephen Conroy' is not losing enough sleep as it is, recent comments from opposition spokesperson Bruce Billson who is calling for an inquiry by the Auditor General into the lack of Transparency behind the tender process, should surely strip him of some zees.

As the NBN proposal cut off date looms, Mr Conroy must be optimistically wishing for a happy ending. However with both 'known' major tenders threatening to pull out of the race if certain guidelines are not met, the minister might be reaching for the Valium prescription instead of a double shot of Vanilla Bean Caramel Frappachino Mix.

Proposals are due by July 25th, but Optus chief executive Paul O'Sullivan has called for the deadline to be extended by five months to give companies enough time to consider network information that is expected to come from Telstra after legislation is passed to compel its release.

Without the information, Mr O'Sullivan argued, the request of proposal guidelines by the government would favour Telstra

Opposition communications spokesman Bruce Billson yesterday called on the Auditor-General to inquire into the national broadband network tender process, saying it lacked transparency and that the July 25 deadline benefited Telstra.

Read more at misaustralia.com

In a recent speech on the upcoming National Broadband Network by OPTUS CEO Paul O'Sullivan, he stated that his overall message could be summed up in one phrase 'Australia cannot take Competition in Broadband for granted'. In colloquial terminology using a famous Aussie expression it sounds more like he's asking for a 'Fair Go' due to the current (and past) state of the Australian Broadband Industry and the Policy Guidelines behind the NBN process.  

Mr O'Sullivan also referred to the National Broadband Network as 'Open Heart Surgery' and touched on subjects that inlcuded The OPEL Decision, Structural Separation and gave an insight into the Broadband Market and the struggle that many ISP's have against Telstra's monopoly of the industry due to regulatory inadequacies.

Telstra has used its market power, over two thirds market share in residential fixed voice, to keep prices high - whilst pocketing the savings from the lower wholesale prices we have been forced to give it.

But recent developments are giving us increasing concern that the fine words of opposition are being lost under the heavy burden of Government and in the face of a seductive though anticompetitive pitch from Telstra.

If the new national broadband network is a repeat of Telstra controlling bottleneck infrastructure it will be a comprehensive policy failure – and Australian consumers will literally pay for this mistake.

we stand ready to provide a compelling proposal which will dramatically improve Australia’s broadband services. But we can only do this if we are given a fair and reasonable chance to put in a serious and compelling bid.

Read the entire speech article at news.com.au