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Fibre optic cables are fibre glass and don’t conduct electricity

From the Bellingen Shire Courier Sun – Ute Schulenberg – 25th July 2017

And what of the NBN on the plateau? The situation in Dorrigo has the added complication of lightning strikes, which are a common occurence. And copper phone lines are particularly vulnerable.

To this end the Dorrigo Chamber of Commerce, while pleased the town has been included in the proposed Fibre to the Curb (FTTC) model, is keen to see the Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) option made available.

“Fibre optic cables are fibre glass and don’t conduct electricity,” Chamber spokesman Peter Lynch said.

“When we met with NBN Co last month we discussed the option of people being able to access FTTP for a nominal sum, possibly around $1000 when FTTC is rolled out.

“We also discussed having community meetings with NBN Co when the roll-out begins (in 2018) because it is important that people understand what they are getting and where to turn when they have problems.

“This should not be about being tech-savvy … the social aspects of this massive shift need to be considered and it needs to be made easy for people.”

He said he was aware of people being connected to fixed wireless without proper information about the effect of vegetation and the importance of clear sight lines.

“We have also noticed that there is no NBN technical support available on the plateau – hopefully that will change.”

Mr Lynch highlighted the massive fibre optic capacity of Dorrigo’s central phone exchange that feeds the three towers on the plateau.

“We are right on this internet highway and we should be able to access it … increasing upload speeds is really the key to putting rural communities on the map.

“The chamber wants to see the best outcomes for our community.”

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Letter to the Editor: Putting NBN Into Perspective

NBN is stubbornly holding onto outdated technology and deployment methods

Here we are, several years into the NBN project and the confetti is flying and the champagne popping.

A milestone of 50 per cent of premises has been reached and that is fantastic, or is it?

The uptake of NBN services is sluggish; the average distance from the node is more than 450m meaning unstable service and no appreciable speed difference for users and, no possible way to upgrade their service without rebuilding the network.

Australia’s world ranking in internet speeds has dropped instead of increased and, most concerning, in the Digital Evolution Index of 2017, we have been lumped with the “Stall Out” countries.

By way of comparison, New Zealand has been grouped in the “Stand Out” countries.

This is primarily because we are pursuing an inequitable rollout and our idea of “super-fast” internet is 0.025Gbps (25 Mbps). All other advanced economies see “fast” internet as 1Gbps (1000 Mbps), “super-fast” internet is 5GBps+ (5000 Mbps).

Despite this, NBN is stubbornly holding onto outdated technology and deployment methods. Our roll-out is, by world standards, the most expensive and realises the least value.

The original FTTP plan was rubbished and torn up by the current Government on the basis of time and cost. Well here we are, one year past the expected completion date and $30 billion over budget.

Indeed, we are at the same cost for a full FTTP rollout.

But it gets worse –  NBN now says that it would cost an extra $2 billion to scrap FTTN and move to FTTC, so let’s review that.

The UK is often held as a beacon of FTTN technology by NBN and our ministers, but this is not a fair comparison. The UK and indeed EU has a clear political and commercial push to 1Gbps, the node tails are much shorter and they have far more HFC (Hybrid Fibre Coaxial) cables in place that can be re-purposed.

Indeed the UK is within the “stand out” group. Australia on the other hand has once again let our unhealthy and destructive obsession of scoring price over value rip apart this once in a multi-generation investment.

We are already seeing the effects of this. Our reputation as a forward-looking, stable and equitable place to invest is being trashed.

The Sunset Ridge Estate will never have Super-Fast internet on wireless and neither will the majority of premises FTTN. An extra $2 billion upgrading this now is money well spent; it will ensure equity for business, education and yes, entertainment.

Please join the Bellingen Shire NBN Facebook group, understand the technology and have your say.

Jason Errey, Arne Hansen and Members of the Bellingen Shire NBN Group

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Urunga fighting for Fibre to the Curb technology

From the Bellingen Shire Courier Sun – Ute Schulenberg – 19th July 2017

Following last week’s investigation into issues with the broadband service available to Sunset Ridge residents in North Bellingen, this week we hear the voices of Urunga residents.

While many parts of Bellingen and Dorrigo are now in line to receive Fibre to the Curb (FTTC), Urunga is scheduled to receive Fibre to the Node (FTTN), which many believe is an inferior service.

Resident and online business woman, Janette Fairleigh, said from her understanding, FTTN was now a redundant technology that would not serve the future needs of the community.

“There is far less infrastructure involved in FTTC and there are no big node cabinets – I don’t see why an upgrade would be such a major thing,” Ms Fairleigh said.

“NBN Co says it is because the FTTN is already planned and an upgrade could delay the roll-out for years.

“The FTTN boxes are large battery-operated objects, which means they would fail when there is a blackout or a flood … there are obvious safety issues with this, especially in flood-prone Urunga.

“People are moving here and bringing new businesses with them – they want this technology; to miss the crest of this technology wave would stifle growth here.”

The Urunga Chamber of Commerce is also requesting FTTC.

President Steve Allan said the chamber had been briefed by the Mayor Dominic King and council’s General Manager, Liz Jeremy and was a signatory to a letter to NBN Co asking the Urunga situation be reconsidered.

“Regardless of NBN Co saying it is too late, we would like to see FTTC here and that’s what we are pushing for,” Mr Allan said.

When asked how he would support the community’s request, the Member for Cowper, Luke Hartsuyker, said he believed the FTTN that Urunga was due to receive was a “first class service”.

“The roll-out of FTTN in Urunga is a good story to tell – it is a first class service, it is the same as is being rolled out in Port Macquarie and it is the same technology that 27 million inhabitants of London receive, as well as people in Germany, Switzerland and Austria,” Mr Hartsuyker said.

“I have no fears that the FTTN Urunga will receive will meet the needs of businesses and households now and into the future.

“We don’t want to give anyone a second rate service.”

NBN Co General Manager for State and Corporate Affairs, Sam Dimarco said construction of the NBN in Urunga was about to start.

“FTTN is not inferior, it can deliver download speeds of 100MB and upload speeds of 40MB … in the NBN Co statement of expectations we must deliver a minimum of 25MB down and 5MB up so this is well in excess of that,” Mr Dimarco said.

“Sometimes people are on plans from service providers for 25MB or less … if you are not getting what you need you should check your plan first.

“You also need to check how your house is set up for internet – do you have old cables or an old modem … there can be physical reasons for problems.”

Regarding the use of FTTN in flood-prone Urunga, Mr Dimarco said while the cabinets themselves were not flood proof, they would be installed in areas above the 1:100 year flood zone.

“FTTN uses the existing copper network, some of which is already delivered aerially in Urunga and the underground network, which is maintained by Telstra, is encased in a plastic sheath and waterproof gel. “

“No, the system is not foolproof but when there is a natural disaster, everything goes down, all services are lost together and emergency services are aware of that.”

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Urunga fighting for Fibre to the Curb technology

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All is not well in the brave new world of hi-tech living

From the Bellingen Shire Courier Sun – Ute Schulenberg – 11th July 2017

While some were celebrating the recent ‘win’ in negotiations with NBN Co to enable Fibre to the Curb (FTTC) technology into parts of the shire, there are still many who are not.

For campaigners Arne Hansen and Jason Errey, who are the driving force behind the Bellingen Shire NBN Facebook (which now has close to 200 members), the MTM or Multi Technology Mix planned for the shire, is more like a ‘Swiss Cheese’ than a carefully planned modern technology upgrade.

“Prior to October 2016, everyone was set to get Fibre to the Node (FTTN), which while it is far from the best of technologies, it would have at least offered an equitable service to everyone,” Arne said.

“Now we have the mixed model that divides towns and creates huge equity issues.

“Certainly there are the areas that will get FTTC but we also have one third of Bellingen with fixed wireless (FW) plus a third of Dorrigo and then there is Urunga staying on FTTN.”

Arne says the decision to put Sunset Ridge in North Bellingen on FW was driven more by the need to boost subscriber numbers than proper planning.

“Sunset Ridge declines off the ridge and people are in a radio shadow with no line of sight or reception to the tower up on Scotchman’s Rd.”

Jason adds the design specs for the town highlight that FW technology cannot be used without line of sight to the tower.

“If they were going to put FW anywhere, it should have been on the other side of Bellingen, which has clear views of the tower,” Jason said.

He said both he and Arne had bought homes under the assumption they would have access to wired communication.

“I work with high resolution virtual reality 4D models – I will never be able to do this with FW,” Jason said.

“Just down the road a competitor is being given FTTC … yet if I want that, I have to pay between $25,000 to $50,000.

“The NBN is making my business choices for me and costing me money. They are a monopoly and they are the most expensive layers of fibre in the world. Why do I not have access to a competitive market?”

This lack of equitable access to the latest technology and its affect on property values are at the heart of what they and other residents continue to argue must be remedied by the Federal Government.

NBN Co’s General Manager, State and Corporate Affairs, Sam Dimarco, refutes these claims.

“We did testing in Sunset Ridge before the meeting with the council in Bellingen on June 27 and found the signal exceeds the minimum level we have to guarantee to provide,” Mr Dimarco said.

“In our statement of expectations, NBN Co must provide the connections on time, on budget with a minimum of 25 megabits (MB) download and 5 MN upload speeds. We guaranteed to give our wholesalers those speeds … and if not, we guarantee to get them up to scratch. We sell our product to the service providers – if people are having problems, they should talk to their providers.”

Next week in the Courier Sun and online: Urunga’s NBN

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All is not well in the brave new world of hi-tech living

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Its the technology coup the shire needed

From the Bellingen Shire Courier Sun – Ute Schulenberg – 4th July 2017

The efforts of Bellingen Shire residents to put the issue of potential substandard NBN coverage firmly on the council’s agenda, as well as the Federal Government’s radar, have been rewarded.

In what is nothing short of a coup, a meeting on June 27 saw the council, residents and Chamber of Commerce representatives put their case to senior representatives from NBN Co, Telstra and a policy adviser to the Shadow Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowlands.

“We had a detailed discussion about the roll-out and NBNCo has now undertaken to install Fibre to the Curb (FTTC) in Bellingen and Dorrigo,” General Manager Liz Jeremy said.

“It took a lot of work to get these people into one room but it has resulted in an excellent outcome and these upgrades are beyond what was originally planned. We are continuing to monitor the service to the broader community, including Urunga.”

After the meeting Shadow Minister Rowlands said, through her policy adviser, that a lot could be learned from Bellingen Shire about the importance of high-speed broadband in supporting sustainable communities that attract professionals from the cities.

“I’m so pleased to see the Bellingen Shire Council advocating for access to better quality broadband on behalf of their constituents, and securing Fibre to the Curb (FTTC) rollout. FTTC is both a better technology and has a viable upgrade path to deliver better speeds over time.”

The following day at their monthly council meeting Cr Toni Wright-Turner said the council should continue to do everything possible to prevent the delivery of mixed technologies creating tiers in property values.

Cr Dominic King said Urunga was a particular case where the delivery plan for Fibre to the Node (FTTN), now deemed to be obsolete technology, was already well advanced.

“We need to see how we can best push this along,” Cr King said.

Cr Jenny Fenton’s unanimously supported motion was for the council to “lobby NBNCo and relevant State and Federal Ministers for the township of Bellingen Shire Local Government Area to receive Fibre to the Curb (FTTC) infrastructure as a minimum service level.

“Council is highly concerned with the impact on equity of access and property prices within the township areas should “Multi-Technology Mix” (MTM) extend into the town boundaries.

And further: “The council welcomes the decision to provide FTTC to the Dorrigo and Bellingen, however, requests NBNCo to provide Fixed Wireless to the Gleniffer Valley and Fibre to the Curb to Urunga.”

The council also thanked the Shadow Minister for her involvement.

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Bellingen Shire Council Pass Unanimous Resolution on NBN

That the Council:

  1. Lobby the NBNCo and relevant State and Federal Ministers in partnership with local businesses, education organisations and the community for the townships of Bellingen Shire Local Government Area to receive Fibre to the Curb (FTTC) infrastructure as a minimum service level. Council is highly concerned with the impact on equity of access and property prices within the township areas should “Multi-Technology Mix” (MTM) extend into the town boundaries.
  2. Welcomes the decision of NBNCo to provide FTTC to the Dorrigo and Bellingen Townships, however, requests NBNCo to remedy the Fixed Wireless deployment in Bellingen. Council further calls on NBNCo to provide Fixed Wireless to the Gleniffer Valley and Fibre to the Curb in Urunga.
  3. Acknowledge the representations made to the Shadow Minister for Communications the Hon Michelle Rowland MP and that she be thanked for the attendance of her policy officer at the meeting held at the Bellingen Shire Council on Tuesday 27 June 2017.
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