Monday, October 25, 2010

NBN Takeup 11% in Tasmania

An article in The Australian reports that telcos will be provided with $3Billion ($300 per customer) to lure households into connecting up into the National Broadband Network. Results in the first trial, in Tasmania, suggest it might take even more than this!
The NBN project originally planned to run the new fibre cable to the street outside each house, with a total budget of $43 Billion. Now, recognising that many (most?) homes wouldn't pay to connect across their front lawn to the road, the NBN is proposing to wire up to the house. It is not clear whether their budget includes the cost of remediating pavements, drives and gardens in each of the 10,000,000 houses involved.
But that still leaves a large cost in wiring and equipment inside the house, to access the new network. The latest proposal is that telcos will contribute $300 towards that, but of course that extra money had to be paid for by the Federal Government.
In Tasmania apparently about 50% of households consented to having the connection provided, but only 11% have subscribed to the new high speed (and high price) services that will be available.
Mr Turnbull recently called the NBN "reckless and imprudent".

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