The NBN threatens to fail business and residents in Tasmania - what about the rest of Australia?

18/03/11: I'm in shock. And in disbelief. And alarm bells are ringing for me regarding the practicalities of the National Broadband Network rollout for us all. Sitting in a friend's beautiful Tasmanian home just 10 minutes from the CBD of one of Australia's 10 largest regional centres I am hearing how the NBN's fibre optic rollout will not reach their home or the other 2000 residents in this area.

The Windermere area is beautiful, populated by enterprising business people who moved here for a better life and a new start. I've met artists, authors and business owners setting new standards in the delivery of services, goods and manufacturing. I've had three days of intellectually stimulating conversation, with smart people, some of whom have built their own homes and invested heavily in their future here.

This stunningly beautiful area is humming with entrepreneurship. Tourism is key. And like us, these residents are working hard to be e-prepared for the future. Many have spent a great deal of time and money preparing and building extraordinary businesses with modern, state-of-the-art e-commerce facilities.

So what is the problem? Windermere is in the Tamar Valley, about 18km from Launceston in Tasmania and only 15km from the northern-most Launceston fibre-optic connection point. At this moment, unless something changes, my friends will miss out on the high-speed capabilities of the fibre optic network with speeds of around 100Mbps plus — and be stuck with the fixed wireless option that guarantees, wait for it, speeds of only 12Mbps. It gets worse. Their current setup of ADSL1 delivers them 8Mbps and some local residents already enjoy ADSL2, which delivers a speed of 24Mbps.

My friends here in Windermere, John and Trixie, tell me that everyone living in neighbouring areas such as Dilston, which is even closer to town, will miss out on fibre optic.

What does this mean? Well for those living in, say, Hillwood apparently the NBN relegates them to less speed than they have now in spite of the fact they are paying the same taxes as everyone else. And there's more.

The problem with fixed wireless, compared to the fibre optic network, is it drops out and is prone to latency — aka signal delay. So while local businesses are trying to do business, even just place orders and hold phone conversations (let alone expand and remain competitive) the local infrastructure promises not to provide them with adequate internet coverage. Imagine that scenario in the middle of critical financial transactions.

At least that's what it looks like to me here in the Tamar Valley. And why is it important? Tasmania has been picked as the first place to begin the roll out of the NBN so it deserves watching.

In the first three test sites, residents were given the choice to opt in or opt out of the fibre-to-the-home connection. So if people only get 12Mbps wireless instead of 100Mbps via fibre, does that mean the service will only cost one tenth?

Not according to Senator Stephen Conroy, minister for broadband, communications and the digital economy. "The National Broadband Network will ensure every community in regional Australia gets fair and equal access through affordable high speed broadband," he wrote in February. "This includes the delivery of a uniform national wholesale price. Wholesale broadband prices will be the same regardless of location and irrespective of the technology platform used to deliver the services."

Does that sound fair to you? Do you know what you are going to get in your area and when? These are some of the questions to ask. Are you in a city area now, or are you in a regional area? What do you get now? And how does it compare with what the NBN is promising?

If you can't find out the information, why not? NBN Co is subject to the same freedom of information laws as any other government business enterprises, such as Medibank or CSIRO.

Try www.nbnco.com.au for some answers, or if you want to check out what's happening in Tasmania, take a look at www.tvnbnc.wetpaint.com.

The crux is the actual implementation of the NBN is being decided as we go. If the test case in Tasmania is having the implications on small business I am witnessing firsthand today — then beware. What can you expect from the NBN? If you've asked and you've had a response, I'd be interested to hear from you.

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