Coalition objection to NBN opt-out is just scaremongering
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“If Australian consumers want a fixed line for telephony or internet access, they are going to have to use NBN’s line — like it or not,” wrote Malcolm Turnbull, opposition communications spokesperson, yesterday. My response to that is simple: so what? Yes, the Tasmanian government is introducing legislation to adopt an opt-out model for the remaining rollout of the National Broadband Network in that state. In other words, if you’re in the 93% coverage area, NBN fibre will be laid to your home or business unless you confirm in writing that you want to be excluded. “NBN Co will not require homeowner consent before connecting them to the network,” Turnbull said, and the media dutifully re-bleated. “Tasmanians will be forced into connecting to the national broadband network (NBN) unless they ‘opt-out’,” wrote Fairfax. Similar sentiments were expressed at The Australian and News.com.au — the latter helpfully illustrating their story with a photograph of a huge yellow cable-laying machine, presumably poised to despoil gardens across the Apple Isle. Running through all of this is a glorious piece of fear mongering: the implication that householders will be forced to buy presumed-to-be-expensive communications services they don’t want. Which is rubbish, of course. Householders will continue to buy their telecommunications services from their chosen retail service provider (RSP), just as they do now. Voice telephony. Internet access fast or slow, high-volume or not. Alarm monitoring. Whatever. The RSP then provisions those services using the customer access network (CAN) that connects premises back to the exchange. That’s the Telstra-owned copper today — “like it or not”, as Turnbull would say — and NBN Co’s optical fibre tomorrow. It’s not really any of the customer’s business how the RSP delivers the service. They’re paying for a capability, and the rest is the RSP’s concern. After all, we don’t choose what kind of pipes our water supply comes in, and the water company replaces pipes with longer-lasting ones as required. Foxtel connects you to pay TV by coax cable or satellite dish at their discretion. Also widely reported was Turnbull’s re-statement of that curious opposition talking point: that the NBN’s business plan depends on “the elimination of competing technologies”. “The move adds compulsion to Labor’s existing plans to shut down competing fixed line technologies (such as Telstras’ [sic] copper network, or voice and broadband delivered over HFC pay TV cables),” he wrote. What Turnbull seems to be suggesting is that we continue to run two or more CANs in parallel, with the obvious inefficiencies of maintenance and management. Presumably this is simply so the Coalition can leverage the ‘my home is my castle get off my lawn shotgun shack’ mentality into marginal-electorate votes. Turnbull is suggesting that as we upgrade the CAN from copper to fibre we don’t do it as efficiently as possible, with the last-block fibre bundles pre-made in a factory to fit precisely and installed in one efficient operation. Instead, we should let the process drag out for years, possibly decades. As each new home crosses over from copper to fibre, another work team hits the streets to field-splice the cable. ‘Choice’ and ‘competition’ are magic words in modern politics, especially for the Coalition. But basic infrastructure doesn’t work that way. We don’t build duplicate water reticulation, sewers, roads and electricity grids in the name of competition, and a telecommunications CAN is no different. |
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43 Comments
You’ve summed it up rather well Stig.
Nicely put. What would happen if a homeowner opted-out, then sold and the new owner wanted to sign up for the NBN? How much of a pain would that be to get it connected after the roll-out?
Great article. I’d like to think Turnbull is smarter than that and he’s just lying for political gain, but I don’t know. Maybe he really is that stupid after all?
What’s really funny though is the laughably stupid home owners who choose to opt out of the NBN. They will effectively lose $10,000 in value from their home, who would buy a home without NBN fibre connected? If you don’t get the fibre connected now, what are you going to do when the copper network is turned off?
Not to mention owners of rental properties. Who’d rent a place where you can’t get a fixed phone (ok, this one I can understad, I haven’t used a fixed home phone for over 5 years) or internet connection?
You’d have to be mad to opt-out. It’s free, you’re not forced to buy any services over it, there’s no hideous overhead cable (for most people), you’d lose value on your home if you tried to sell it and there was no fibre connection… what reason to opt-out?
In reality, all the opt-out model does is save people having to mail off their opt-IN forms.
Turnbull, of all the politicians, is indeed smarter than that. He seems to actually understand technology, which is why it’s a pity that he’s been forced to score points with such silly comments as “like it or not”.
The NBN, while very expensive, seems to me, as a technology professional (IT consulting), the only decent policy the ALP took in to the election, and it’s the only reason I’m happy to see Ms Gillard in the Lodge. The Liberal Party’s policy of mostly wireless is just plain dumb.
You’d be plain mad to opt-out of getting connected to the fibre “grid”. People moan and groan about imputations associated with progress, whether it’s being connected to sewerage, or putting power lines underground (both of which are happening or have happened in my street), but the costs associated with such connections are far outstripped by the cost associated with loss of value if you choose (where you have a choice) not to proceed.
Wonder for how long Turnbull will continue this absurd front. He doesn’t agree with the Coalitions opposition to the NBN and everyone, even the unhinged one, are or will be sooner or later, aware of it. He is damaging his personal reputation and intelligence by sticking to the script he has not written nor can possibly concur with. Time to start making a move Mal, before the good will disappears.
The Battle of the Midgets. Abbott vs Turnbull for the silliest statement of the week.
“He is damaging his personal reputation and intelligence by sticking to the script he has not written nor can possibly concur with. “
True and well put.
The Coalition should stop trying to oppose the NBN, Abbott-style, by throwing in any reason it can up with. It should concentrate on areas where sewrious opposition scrutiny would be widely welcomed.
Turnbull’s involvement in careful monitoring of NBN expenditure to minimise waste - and above all pushing for legislated guarantees to prevent government censorship and enforce net neutrality and quality privacy standards - would be appreciated. The Coalition could probably achieve wins in Parliament on those issues with corss-bench support.
This type of nonsense - well dissected by Stig - is just pissing away Malcolm’s credibility for no benefit. A real shame.
Subject nicely covered by everyone, very comforting. No Blabbot & Co. apologists so far.
Great article - Why should there be any opt out at all? Can we opt out of water or electricity connection. Most people on town fringes are very anxious about getting connected to infrastructure.
“provision” is not a verb. I believe you mean “provide”, as in “The RSP provides those services …”.
Oh god! There is a “leverage” in there as well!
“leverage” is not a verb. Usually it can be replaced by “use”. In this case, perhaps, “turn”, “convert” or “transform”.
Working with computers, technology and Americans has a tendency to rot our minds.
Aah, Stilgherrian, ferret oracle. We miss your podcast.
Just because Turnbull put seed money into OzEmail decades ago, he’s automatically considered by many to be an expect on communications technology. In fact, the more he opens his mouth on the subject the more obvious it ought to be that he knows absolutely nothing about the technology.
The more he opens his mouth the more obvious the light streaming in through his ears is.
I notice that Alan Kohler is on the “show me your cost benefit analysis” bandwagon in today’s Business Spectator, even after admitting that it would never be built by private enterprise and it must involve a fair bit of cross subsidy.
Well, d’oh, Alan, that is exactly the point.
Although to pay him credit, he does admit the possibility that the NBN will be justifiable, which supposes that we pick the right criteria to judge it by in the first place.
The bleeding obvious, I’d call that. Maybe someone could tell Turnbull?
Don’t we all have to use the Telstra copper whether we like it or not or have I missed something.
A well-timed and lucid piece, Stilgherrian.
When these latest Coalition arguments have been dealt with I’m eager to hear what they come up with next. Please please let Abbott fearmonger that fibre-optic cable will fade the curtains…
I have to say that Turnbull lost a lot of points (with me) with his response. He has now jumped in with the rest of that political bunch who are restricted to the “big new tax” method of communication about a complex topic. Any hope that he would add to the debate and thereby help us get the best possible of outcomes just got laid to rest.
Turnbull didn’t start Ozemail, like a good predator he bought low and sold high.
He says it is not his job to destroy the NBN.
He says even if any cost benefit was positive, regardless of who did it, he would oppose it as it would be wrong.
He says the present cost of NBN is too high at $65 and people wont pay for it, even though it includes line rental and free local and national calls the line rental alone is almost $30.
He claims there is no difference between a fixed and mobile wireless network.
He only does interviews with compliant reporters.
He was trashed by Conroy on Lateline.
So why does the media give him any air space, because he is actually a waste of space.
Turnball is just as stupid as the rest of them , and he is proving it everyday.
How stupid does Turnbull think we are? When Abbott put Turnbull in as communications spokesman he said there was no better person within the Coalition ranks than Mr Turnbull to prosecute a case against the National Broadband Network (NBN), adding that it was his intention to “demolish” the project. So now Mr T expects us to believe it’s not his job to destroy the NBN? When this lot stop telling porkies, making things up and treating us all like brain-dead idiots I’ll start paying attention to their ramblings. Until then (and I think I”’ be waiting a long time) I just can’t be bothered with them.
I have a fixed line. I also have a mobile phone, but I can’t afford to use it every day, it’s too expensive.So, if Telstra want to continue to have my custom(and lots of other people on a pension or other low income) they’ll have to provide me with a telephone line - regardless of what it is. I don’t think Turnbull knows what he’s talking about as others have said. Or, it’s the script he’s been given and told to chant over and over. Also, I live in a city, but, a 15 minute walk from me, and people don’t have Broadband? Amazing but true! A short drive in another direction sees those people as one of the ‘trial groups’ soon to be connected to the NBN? With NBN most of us will have access, and that must be a positive thing - unless of course you believe in a class system, which MT obviously does!
@Paul:
It became OzEmail when Turnbull and Kennedy put significant investment bucks into what was essentially a one man operation called Mictotex. Turnbull became the first Chairman of OzEmail.
(^ Microtex)
I read/heard the guy(himself) who started OzeMail also named it himself.He come up with the name whilst having a shower and made a joke about being pretty certain he was alone,ie no M.Turnbull.
It’s first incarnation was “Oz-E-Mail”. Still a two-bob operation until Turbull and Kennedy threw the big bucks into the ring and turned a dial-up email operation into an ISP.
Just talking about the name,no - -to be seen anywhere either.Check Wiki.
This and his little stunt yesterday with the scary price of $65 a month for internet under the broadband (one wonders when he last looked at internet pricing structures) have just made Turnbull look totally stupid - and I know he is not.
Is he so keen not to rock the Liberal Coalition boat that he is prepared to be seen as the trusty but stupid sidekick until the rest of his party get the balls to kick Tony to the Kerb?
http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/10/07/coalition-objection-to-nbn-opt-out-is-just-scaremongering/#comment-102370
Heard Piers Ackerman on Insiders several weeks ago say (wtte)……..how do we know it [ Fibre-optic connection to the home] won’t burn down the house?
With jaw-dropping ignorance like that we’ll be lucky to get any useful contributions from the Wreckers…………
Sorry to be a dissenter- but I think the whole business case for the NBN is bit dodgey and undercooked.
The coalition’s criticism of this “expensive investment” could be only thing they got right in their policy.
Of course, only time will really tell. The NBN idea is “big and sexy”. But the alternative patch and mixed-tech models, and their respective costs, deserved greater scrutiny.
The funny thing is, the current NBN offerings in Tassie look damn good to me. iiNet, for example (and I have no idea if this is the best deal available, I didn’t look at all the resellers) is offering 10Gb peak/10Gb offpeak at 100/8 Mbps for $29.95 a month. For an extra $10 a month, you can get a phone service too with — get this — completely free local and national calls!
This is so much better in terms of pricing, speed and capacity than what I’m currently able to get here in Melbourne it’s not funny. But, oh, silly me — obviously everyone would want to opt-out from this deal, because who’d ever want to pay less for their internet and phone. No, damn it, we should have the right to more expensive internet and telephony using older technology if we want to!
Incidentally, Stilgherrian, you write that we don’t build duplicate sewers, but I’m not so sure about that. Considering the lies and misinformation being peddled by them recently on the NBN, the Coalition seems to be attempting the creation of a new sewer network right around Australia.
While we can expect Malcolm to make political capital of something that doesn’t excuse the media for parroting him and not doing their homework and giving the public the full story.
A pox on their houses-I’m getting sick to death of the current state of the echo chambers that pass for our media. And Murdoch thinks we will pay on-line for this rubbish !
@Oscar Jones
Uncle Rupert is afraid. Very Afraid. Broadcasting and News Media as we know it is under serious threat from the young upstart called the internet. And that young whippersnapper gives news away for free, dammit, and you can download all the broadcasts your broadband download allowance permits. If they bring in the Government NBN he will be doomed, I tell you, doomed!
Uncle Rupert’s news and media money-tree, which used to operate like a magic pudding, is now yielding less and less with every shake, and he is throwing a tanti because he wants his magic pudding back.
He will throw every conceivable resource, including those spineless hacks he pays to do his bidding, into stopping this from ever happening.
Space Kidette,
Are you being a bit harsh here? Rupert Murdoch is simply an elderly man concerned that he won’t have enough of a nest egg for his retirement. Surely that’s the only logical way his greed can be explained.
Thanks to the voters and the Independents and Greens the Coalition is all smoke and mirrors.
By the time the next election comes along a lot more homes will be connected to the NBN.
Thus the Coalition is going to need some substantive arguments against it.
Most people know that wireless devices like the Ipad are in addition to not instead of the home based connection.
Now Google Tv is out. Logitech and Sony are providing cameras in television sets so people can upload video or do face to face chat. Not an entertainment only medium. This is only what we see today.
When Alexander Graham Bell did his “Mary has a little lamb” for recording his voice who would have imagined the ipod?
It is the same with Broadband most of what it will be used for is not even in existence yet.
Thus building with Fibre Optic for speed of light transmission is indeed the way to go.
When the Coalition and other critics can come up with an improvement on the speed of light for future proofing I will listen with interest.
If Rupert had any sense, he’d realise he could shut-down his dead-tree print works and deliver his MSM content in its *entirety* via fibre. Which should scare the print unions, but not Rupert. Alas, he appears to have no sense.
@Meski,
Rupert realises that today, anybody, including the five year old next door, can deliver news and entertainment. Outmanouvre a few major corporate competitors - no problem. But you cannot compete against everyone who wants to have a go.
He hasn’t yet figured out how to continue to compete, control AND make it pay. And the longer he can put off the inevitable, the better it is for him financially.
Ceteris - Why is it dodgy and overcooked?
@Space: Sure, they can, but say I want to buy a MSM product, for instance to check its classifieds. In theory, I should be able to do the entire deal from my computer, and get the entire ‘paper’ delivered via the internet. And then look at it, maybe on a tablet computer. The model for what’s available to do this now sucks so badly it isn’t funny. The five-year old can probably set up the model, but would have difficulty managing the content. Look at what’s in a paper. Or a magazine. We scoff at advertising, but some of it is interesting. Some magazines (Circuit Cellar Ink) I find the ads equally interesting to the articles.
@Meski: Trawl through you tube and twitter and you will find out what constitutes news and entertainment today. I get your point, but advertisers, and more importantly their dollars, will go where the eyeballs are. That is why the five year old is so dangerous. And the 20 year olds across the globe, who get it, are savvy, and have the technology to do it are all a threat to Uncle Rupert - and even more dangerous!
There are some interesting side-fights going on in the NBN discussion.
Firstly, the position taken inside the Australian ISP sector is itself quite complex. Some people fear dis-intermediation. Some people see opportunities to cash out, or to recapitalize different parts of their income stream. Some people see major downsides to their specific model, but acknowledge benefit to the customer. Its not all one sided, and its not all Pro-Lib or Pro-Labor.
Secondly, in the marketplace of providers into Layer-1/Layer-2 devices and equipment, many questions abound. The fights over aerial cable for the HFC are going to be re-run, with councils seeking rental income over their rights, and new estate build outs raising issues of ducting sizes and income for access.
The pre-built fiber tails go to the question of the sewerage path, which is what has been used in other deployments. Thats now semi-privatized, with the establishement of cross-council water/waste management, so again it goes into some twists of which legislation-forum you seek access, in, and ‘qui bono’ questions are huge.
Arguably, the ISP count in Australia is a phurphy. in reality, sufficient ISPs to maintain competition is, like banking, a complex question. Also like banking, its likely that 4-5 nationals, and a tier of smaller players are about as good as it gets, which is a long way shy of the 700+ players that have existed over time since the modem days, and been whittling down fast over time.
I wonder if the current range of product is sustainable post NBN? My provider of choice, TPG, clearly offers a very different quality of end-to-end service compared to IInet, Internode, Optus or Telstra. I bought on price and ‘sufficient’ bandwidth, but I might change my mind if the pricepoints for NBN delivery and the speed of off-NBN (ie international, and cross-ISP) data varies. TPG financials must presumably be thinking of this, and will be re-visiting their particular capitalization model, and profit model, in the light of whats happening.
Somehow, I suspect that the HUGE volume of negative messages in the NBN debate reflect that core profit motive: As consumers, we expect thinner margins once the basic national cable plan is a common-wealth, be it public, or regulated private management. Thats only good for me if the ISPs can sustain viable margins on whats left, and differentiate sensibly.
-G
Is Turnbull keeping his powder dry? Does he have a killer reason for not having the NBN which he is saving up? If so he hasn’t fired it yet in his daily salvos against the NBN.
He must know he is talking nonsense; he must also think we are stupid. And he should know he was committing political suicide by accepting Tony’s brief. If he could not stand up to Tony and say “No”, is he prime ministerial grade talent when it comes to dealing with world leaders?
Has anyone surveyed those lucky enough to have the NBN installers knocking at their doors asking why they have not signed the form and are they currently internet subscribers?
Since most houses in Australia are connected, NBNCo looks as if it has started with the least technically literate people in the nation. That’s a pity when so many are begging for it and would no doubt sling the installers a slab of beer as they approached.
@GGM
“The fights over aerial cable for the HFC are going to be re-run, with councils seeking rental income over their rights” I remember a particularly noisy councillor in the olden days going on about this but in the case of a ubiquitous service how does that argument appeal to ratepayer voters: “your NBN is more expensive because we are charging for the airspace over the nature strip you mow?”
and
I’m with TPG too. It is often alleged TPG’s model is less service, lower prices but hasn’t Telstra’s always been less service, higher prices?