With the federal government recently moving to commence the tender process for the first stages of the National Broadband Network (NBN), I am gladdened to see that they are taking the issue of backhaul very seriously. Backhaul has been one of the biggest problems with internet speeds in Australia for many years – with or without the NBN.
It is also pleasing to see that the major news outlets are taking the time to consider the costs and implications of what the NBN will bring to the table.
| A Lot is Riding On How We Choose to Take Our Fibre |
As the above article suggests, for Australia to truly benefit from the NBN, it needs to be universally accepted and used. Several of the major telcos in this country, most notably Optus, have been calling for the structural separation of Telstra into retail and wholesale arms. Up until now, with their monopoly on fixed-line copper in Australia, Telstra has been able to dictate wholesale pricing to all carriers seeking access for data or voice services.
The copper in Australia is old. In some areas it is so bad in condition, or so lacking in quantity, that many people cannot receive xDSL services of any kind on their existing phone lines. Imagine how much it would cost and how long it would take to replace it? But why bother? It’s OLD technology.
The structural separation of Telstra holds many advantages – not the least of which is genuine price competition. However, if the government takes a bold step and mandates a cut-off date for the entire copper network – once the NBN is complete – Telstra will no longer be in the position to price-gouge with their wholesale pricing – they won’t have a product to do it with.
And then every one who wants a slice of the NBN pie will be on a level playing field. That’s a good thing. I certainly hope it happens.