The truth about the phone pole and the NBN

Posted July 14, 2018 10:06:55As NBN Co heads into its fourth round of budgeting, the company is already being criticised for its cost-cutting efforts, including its “unreliable” rollout of the fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) technology.

The Federal Government has yet to provide an official estimate of the cost of deploying the technology, but a range of reports suggests the cost will be more than double what it currently is.

Key points:NBN Co says the cost-saving measures are needed to keep up with rising demand for the serviceNBN Corp has announced the cost to install the FTTN network will be “more than double” what it is nowThe FTTN rollout is due to be complete in 2021The NBN Co is facing increasing pressure to make its rollout cost-effective as it faces a record-breaking demand for its service.NBNCo has been forced to scale back its rollout of fibre-optic technology, which has resulted in the NBN Co’s fibre-coaxial (FTTP) network facing an ever-increasing cost.

“In the current financial environment, it’s critical that we deliver on our commitments to deliver an FTTN network and keep it up to date,” NBN Co CEO Bill Morrow told the ABC’s Insiders program on Monday.

“Our current fibre network is not meeting demand and we’re working hard to meet that demand,” he said.

“But we’ve got to be sure that we’re delivering on that promise.”

The FTTP rollout will be the fastest of all, so we have to be careful about the number of days we can deploy it.

“We’re also doing some things that are working in the background, which means that we can scale it more quickly.”

That’s the plan for 2021.

“The FTTP rollout was originally due to begin in 2021, but has been pushed back to 2024.

Mr Morrow said NBN Co would not be able to make the fibre rollout cheaper, and would be making significant cuts to its workforce in order to meet demand.”

I think what we need to do is do more than we’re doing now,” he told the program.”

What we need is to build a better infrastructure that delivers what the consumer wants to get, and that means getting a better business model, a better network, and a better NBN.

“Mr Morrow also indicated the company would be cutting its workforce, though he did not provide an exact number.”

There’s some redundancy there,” he admitted.”

So we have about 5,000 people that we’ve cut, but we’re not going to be closing them down, we’re just not.

“Mr Mundy said the company had also been investing in its infrastructure, adding: “We’ve got some really strong investments in our infrastructure.

We’ve got a whole range of different things that we are investing in.

“Mr Morley said NBNCo was planning to build about 2.3 million more homes in the next 10 years.”

One of the things that’s happening is that we have a really robust infrastructure in place, and it is working,” he explained.”

It’s working well, and we have the best technology on the market and we know what we’re looking for.”NBN spokesman Daniel Hickey said NBNco was working on its FTTP infrastructure, and had a plan to increase its fibre capacity by up to 400 megabits per second.”

With a range and density of technology, NBN Co can deliver better than 1 Gbps to all customers at all times,” he added.”

This is achieved through an integrated, robust, efficient network with a fibre-based infrastructure.

“Mr Hickey acknowledged NBNCo had been in a “very challenging” financial position, but said the cost savings would result in “a better network for consumers”.”

We’ll be able do it better,” he stated.”

If you look at our current infrastructure, we know we’re going to have to invest more in it to meet our demands.

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