Coalition welcomes NBN’s doubling of wireless, satellite speeds


The battle to turn broadband and the NBN into a key election issue has begun in earnest. Communications minister Stephen Conroy has announced a doubling of NBN wireless speeds and at the same time launched an attack on coalition broadband policies for regional areas.
However, regional communication shadow spokesperson Luke Hartsuyker has countered the government's claims, telling CommsDay that the coalition welcomed the faster NBN wireless speeds.

He claimed that the drawback with the current NBN rollout was not the use of wireless but the fact that it didn't target known broadband blackspots. Speaking at a specially arranged event in the rural town of Bungendore just outside of Queanbeyan and close to the national capital, Conroy said regional and rural users would now get a service that compares with those in the cities at the same cost.

“To ensure the full benefits of the NBN are available to all Australians, the government tasked NBN Co with ensuring an upgrade path for the fixed wireless and satellite services. I am particularly pleased to announce that the speeds available on the NBN fixed wireless service will be more than doubled,” Conroy said from Bundendore, which is in both the wireless and satellite footprint for the NBN.

He also said that the two new satellites that are being built by manufacturer Loral in the United States would be capable of 25Mbps/5Mbps speeds. However, they are not due to launch until 2015.

As well as the technical details, Conroy used the event as part of the government's wider political campaign.

“The Gillard government is spending nearly $15 billion as a part of the NBN to introduce this quantum leap in broadband and voice services. 70% – seven-zero per cent – of people who live in regional and rural Australia get fibre to the home. That remaining 30%, usually described as the 7% [of the overall population] in the most remotest and regional rural Australia, will now receive this service as well, and they're paying the same price as you pay in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane,” Conroy said.

“So, let me be very clear again. We have built a cross-subsidy into this pricing system. Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are cross-subsidising homes like where we're standing today, homes in the remotest parts of Australia, so that you pay the same price . . . And you might say, where are the National Party?

Where is Barnaby Joyce? Where is Warren Truss? Where is Luke Hartsuyker, their spokesperson in this area?” Conroy challenged.

However, rather than criticise the policy, Hartsuyker told CommsDay the coalition broadly supported it. “When it comes to satellite and wireless, we certainly concur. Our policy is to bring the price down for the taxpayer and wireless and satellite is certainly part of our plan. Anything that will bring a faster rollout to regional areas and maximise value to the taxpayer will be favoured,” he said.

“The problem we have with the NBN rollout is that it is not focussing on known broadband blackspots and it is duplicating infrastructure that already exists. The coalition will have a policy that delivers broadband to these blackspots as quickly as possible,” said Hartsuyker, whose broadband to these blackspots as quickly as possible,” said Hartsuyker, whose electorate of Cowper on the mid North Coast of NSW is already slated for wireless NBN rollout.

PRICING DETAILS: According to NBN Co, the wholesale download speeds of up to 25Mbps and upload speeds of up to 5Mbps will be available over the fixed-wireless network as early as June. Satellite users will have to wait until the Long Term Satellite Service, which is scheduled to arrive in 2015 after the two new satellites are launched.

The previous speeds announced for both services were 12Mbps/1Mbs, while the interim satellite service currently offers 6Mbps/1Mbps.

In addition, the wholesale prices for internet service providers who retail NBN packages to rural broadband users will be pegged at the same rate as they are for fibre users in the cities: $27 per month for the 25/5Mbps service and $24 for the 12/1Mbps service respectively.

NBN Co CEO Mike Quigley claimed that every home and business in Australia, “from the outback to the city”, will have internet speeds as good as or faster than ADSL2+ services available in metropolitan areas. “For instance, faster speeds will allow people in regional communities to work from home like they would from a big city office, access video-based health services and make high-quality video calls to family and friends,” Quigley claimed.

Paul Rees, CEO of service provider SkyMesh, which is providing services on all three NBN platforms – fibre, wireless and satellite – backed the claims of getting an ADSL2-comparable service from satellite.

“Our experience with NBN satellite services is that our customers on a 6 Mbps service consistently get between 5.7 and 5.8 Mbps after overheads. Our NBN fixed wireless customers on a 6 Mbps service also consistently get between 5.7 Mbps and 5.8 Mbps after overheads. That doesn’t vary with signal strength, or distance from the tower, they consistently get those speeds,” Rees told CommsDay.

“On that basis a 25 Mbps service would likely get close to 23 Mbps, and that’s faster than the peak speed of an ADSL2+. Also, ADSL2+ services generally don’t get much more than 1 Mbps for uploads. A 25/5 Mbps satellite or fixed wireless service would likely give you over four times that for uploads,” he suggested.

The main stumbling block for satellite users, according to Rees, will remain the higher latency. “While satellite services have higher latency than ADSL, our customers on satellite don’t have the option of ADSL2+, their only alternative to satellite is nothing. Latency on NBN fixed wireless is very low, certainly comparable to a good quality ADSL2+ service,” he said.

NORTHERN RIVERS REGION NEXT FOR WIRELESS: North coast of NSW towns including Lismore, Ballina and Byron Bay have commenced the process of getting NBN fixed wireless service. NBN Co staff are currently talking to local officials in the Northern Rivers region, with meetings also slated with a range of interest groups. Community meetings will be held in the various shires in late February. Plans are currently being finalised for fixed-wireless facilities in seven council areas: Ballina Shire, Byron Shire, Clarence Valley Shire, Kyogle Council, City of Lismore, Richmond Valley Council and the Tweed Shire. NBN co said in the coming months it plans to lodge development applications with councils covering new sites or co-locating our equipment on existing infrastructure. It said that following that, it plans further consultation
on the specific proposals for new fixed-wireless facilities at several community information sessions for interested residents. If planning approvals are given, service is expected to begin before the end of the year, a spokesperson said.

Geoff Long - CommsDay