Internet Australia wants the Government and Opposition to put politics aside and rethink the National Broadband Network before the nation is firmly saddled with an already outdated technology mix.
In March, Australia's peak body representing Internet users warned Australia's copper-based internet network simply had to go. It said it needed to be replaced entirely with fibre or the nation would be left behind; which it already appears to be.
Internet Australia is keen to see the FTTN (Fibre to the Node) approach for the NBN abandoned. Fibre to the Node provides broadband access by running fibre to a neighbourhood node or pillar, then using the existing copper network to connect to various premises.
Internet Australia wants to see what's known as "fibre to the driveway" (more accurately, fibre to the distribution point, or FTTdp) implemented.
FTTdp involves fibre cabling run to the boundary of homes and commercial buildings, or very close to them. From that point, existing copper could continue to be used - in the short term.
" Such an approach would provide a future-proofed network and avoid the need for a costly re-build in 10 to 15 years’ time when copper is simply no longer fit-for-purpose," says the body.
Such a solution is now more economically viable due to the availability of "skinny fibre". A trial of skinny fibre in Victoria reduced the cost per instance of Fibre to the Premise by hundreds of dollars and also significantly reduced broadband rollout time.
"Skinny fibre" is thinner than the green nylon jacketed 576 fiber optic ribbon cable (pictured above) currently being generally used for the National Broadband Network. It helps address costly network construction challenges such as duct blockages; plus allows for the use of smaller multi-ports and more flexible joints.
Internet Australia CEO Laurie Patton stressed FTTdp would be an interim step and the organisation believes anything less than FTTP is an " inferior solution".
"The Internet is for all Australians. It is an essential service in the 21st century that will underpin Australia’s social and economic progress," said Mr Patton. " That means all Australians must have reliable, affordable access to a high quality, high bandwidth broadband service for both upstream and downstream traffic wherever they live and work."
While the NBN appears to have been somewhat bogged down by cost blowouts, delays and wrangling, other new non-NBN broadband services springing up aren't just bridging the gap made by copper, but avoiding it altogether.
These broadband services offer incredibly fast download and speeds to households and businesses using fibre/wireless hybrid technology.
Image Credit: BigStock
