Contributed from Queensland

The National Broadband Network (NBN) chief, Bill Morrow, told the parliamentary hearing last week that more than 4.2 million Australian premises will not be able to access top internet speeds by the time the roll out has been completed. Some may not even achieve normal internet speeds if their network is running at a slower rate, this is where software for different types of testing comes in handy, companies like Apica Systems can provide this to those who require it.

About 40 percent of the country will be restricted to internet speeds averaging 68 Megabits per second. This is far lower than the fibre optics system is supposed to deliver, whether it be a plan that has internet discounts guide for senior citizens, or any other kind. Part of the problem is that the system is not being properly rolled out. Another is the combination of fibre optics cabling with copper connections at the end point. This significantly defeats the purpose of fibre optics, which is supposed to deliver much greater speed, greater volume and less of the data loss. These are compromised with the use of copper. Even though it can be made better with something like sfp optical transceivers, which improves connectivity between either fibre optic or copper transmitters, therefore helping to make it worthwhile again.

However, this isn’t to say that all Australians are not accessing the fast internet that’s promised. Many Australian businesses are running with incredibly fast internet, ranging from 10Mbps to 1Gbps. This is down to fibre internet Melbourne companies like Business ICT Australia. This is something that many Australians want to take advantage of.

“FTTN by itself, with the copper loop lengths that we are building with, will not give you gigabit speeds,” Morrow said.

On top of this, users must pay out of their own pockets fore the upgrade to FTTN. Prices will range from around $1,000 to tens of thousands per year.

The system remains well behind the global standard and it is likely that customers will be paying for speeds they are not going to get. Optus is said to be the biggest offender.

Which brings in another factor. The NBN is a wholesaler, which sells the service to the range of providers and they in turn add a premium, parcel out packages with different speeds and other capabilities. The system has long been a source of over pricing, when compared to what customers must pay in other countries.

The main issue is that the NBN is inadequate. It is not up to standard within the global network and this means that as well as being inconvenient, will continue to have an adverse economic impact, in terms of slower communication.

Billions of dollars of taxpayer money have gone into the building the network. Much more will have to be spent in the next few years on building one that is up to the task.

So much for the claim that the reduced system is all about cutting the cost burden.