Our National Broadband Network a farce or fabulous?

14/10/2010: Our National Broadband Network a farce or fabulous? There aren't many people who dread saying what they do for a living at a dinner party, but NBN Co CEO Mike Quigley must have the country's most unenviable job on his hands. But as the man in charge of implementing the National Broadband Network (NBN), he is used to taking some flack.

The NBN will be Australia's first national wholesale-only open access, high-speed broadband platform. I find the media coverage difficult to cut through and the whole air of the NBN surrounded with controversy, myth and detractors. Today, the confusion is whether the fibre will go to premise or to street, which affects the cost.

I had the chance to listen to Quigley this week at a luncheon with 80 other professionals. NBN Co is the company formed just over a year ago to strategise, plan and implement the new NBN. Today the NBN has 300 employees and is in the midst of much consumer, business and political debate. As it's owned by the Commonwealth, taxpayers and the federal government are stakeholders, so it's important we have a say and an opinion. Quigley came out of semiretirement to head up the company after a 35-year career at Alcatel. But what would make anyone take on a job like this?

The nationwide laying of a fibre network is making history, so take notice. It will affect us, our children and our grandchildren. Only twice before has a national method of communication been universally installed in this country. In 1870, the overland telegraph was implemented, and after World War II the fixed copper line we use now was laid. That copper system is still keeping the country going nearly 60 years later — although fast deteriorating and ready to replace.

So while we "future focus" within our businesses, this national communications initiative involves re-laying the country's entire communications foundation, taking a huge leap into the future to gauge how we protect our communication needs for future generations.

It's a great lesson in forward thinking! Quigley's job, as in any infrastructure project, is to manage the task itself, but he also has to protect our telecommunication needs for the next 30 years, predict future trends, highlight industry issues and try to please everyone. It's a mammoth task!

As it stands, Australia doesn't even feature on the Fibre to the Home Council's list of FTTH-connected nations. Who would have known there would be internet when the original copper line was laid? It was only 15 years ago that we were using dial-up connections.

I recently spoke to Peter Kazacos, the executive chairman of Annitel, a regional IT telecommunications company.

"There is no doubt that Australians want to grow our regional centres," he said. "The main cities are hard to commute to and difficult to find staff. As a country, we have built roads and airports but this is not enough.

"To be truly competitive we must have competitive digital infrastructure, which is what I believe the NBN is about. It's difficult for people located in capital cities to understand. What they believe is an adequate broadband service is not fulfilling the needs of businesses located in regional Australia. An investment in NBN today will secure the future of our regional centres."

The NBN will connect 93 percent of all Australian premises with fibre-based services with 7 percent connected with next-generation wireless and satellite technologies. It should help Australia tackle climate change, reduce the need for road travel and bring communication capability to an ageing population.

The Australian Information Industry Association states: "The high-speed digital infrastructure will enable substantial advances in the delivery of education and information, smarter health, energy, transportation and social services across Australia."

To date, the NBN has been rolled out as a test case in parts of Tasmania and is currently being rolled out in five areas across Australia. Pricing is still being carefully negotiated with the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission — particularly as the network is a monopoly.

The benefits of the NBN for small business include removing the need for travel and face to face meetings, decongesting roads, facilitating job sharing and the contracted markets and give us faster more reliable internet connections. And don't forget if you are in cabling or hardware, there is $2 billion worth of business out there for you to snatch.

The proof will be in the pudding! Do you struggle with internet connectivity?

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