CHOICE membership

The "Never Never Broadband Network" - NBN complaints

#645

The subject is broad and multi-faceted, with intertwined issues. In addition to concerns involving individuals, there are questions about what someone in a gatekeeper role (like the Chinese government, in their role as operators of ‘free’ satellite Internet) could deduce from mining the mass of data passing through their gateway servers.

Cambridge Analytica and apparent interference in US politics demonstrate how individuals can be influenced to sway populations. It’s dangerous enough when done by the likes of Facebook and Google. When governments get in on the act, Orwell starts looking prescient.

Getting back on topic:

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#646

Yes it is broad and multi-faceted. You still have nothing truly secure.

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#647

“Broad-band” ?

Where did the broad bit come from? :thinking:

“Broad-minded” where “broad = open”, sometimes.

So NbN is also the “National - open - Network”?

A much better solution as P Dutfon will not need any encryption breaking tools for this one. :joy:

P.s
Re “IT News, NBN fixed wireless issues should be disclosed upfront, says ACCC”
thanks for the link @n3m0

Interesting but fair that the ACCC call is for RSP’s to disclose the service speeds before you sign up to FW and downgrade your plan if the speeds are not met. There was no comment on what might happen if the RSP can’t provide enough speed to meet the current lowest 12Mbps plans, or on signing up to 25Mbps, the service slows to less than 12Mbps.

If the NBN Co can’t upgrade to provide a local tower to deliver 25Mbps or even 12Mbps are you entitled to decline to connect and keep your existing adsl irrespective of the 18 month disconnection window?

None of that addresses concerns the minimum prior guarantee of 25Mbps on FW is not being acted on by the NBN Co, except where services fall below 6Mbps?

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#648

I disagree with this. One-time pads are just as secure as they ever were - as long as you can keep them from prying eyes. The Internet’s public/private key infrastructure can be extremely secure - depending upon the two ends. It is possible for a secret to be shared openly, but only accessible/readable by the intended audience.

Of course, to get this kind of security guarantee you again have to build your own system from CPU on up. You can use public wires, if you use the right security algorithms. (Not the ones recommended by the US government’s National Security Agency.) And if you rely upon public wires, then your metadata is accessible.

Given that my current ADSL gives me around 6-7Mbps, I cannot see the local NBN rollout persuading me to stay with the existing arrangement. That said, I’m allegedly going to get FTTN - which should be faster than fixed wireless or satellite.

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#649

Good luck with that. :expressionless:

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#650

The question has been put on Facebook:

Given the large areas affected by the Queensland bushfires, it is an appropriate scale to gather data regarding the resilience of Skymuster, NBN Fixed Wireless and Mobile Phone technologies.

Further questions and some responses here:

Communications Solutions for Emergency and Disaster Events
#651

There is a new topic to continue discussion on Communications Solutions for Emergency and Disaster Events, including consideration of use or usefulness of the NBN in such circumstances.

#652
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#653

The review can be downloaded from here:

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#654

Re 2018 Regional Telecommunications Review…

A great read, well written and presented. Excellent photos. Four women, two blokes and not a divisive word between them.

Oh, and a very critical report on the NBN deliverables to regional, rurual and remote Australia. From the summary by the committee:

The committee is strongly of the view that there are compelling factors for significant additional capital investment in telecommunications infrastructure to maximise the economic opportunities and economy-wide benefits that are available for the people in regional, rural and remote Australia.
The timing for this new investment is right now, we shouldn’t just wait for the next technology ‘silver bullet’ to come along. If we do nothing in the short-term then the current inequities faced by many regional, rural and remote Australians will simply get worse. The committee is of the view that there is little to no free market drivers to stimulate the change required in the telecommunications industry’s capital focus.

There are several references to the NBN rollout being 96% complete to regional Australian areas. This is more accurately 96% of customers either able to connect or being in areas where the NBN Co has “construction underway”. There is no break out of the data behind this assertion, although the weekly NBN Co status updates suggests the Fixed Wireless network is the main area where delivery is incomplete.
The report is notably critical of the lack of performance of both the NBN satellite and FW services noting that customers of these services are not being treated equal to those of the fixed line services.

_There is a significant disconnect between what NBN Co is saying about the performance of the Sky Muster service at the network level, compared to the lived experience of many users. NBN Co acknowledges early teething problems with the Sky Muster service, but states that it has now stabilised and is working to international best practice benchmarks (NBN Co submission, p. 4). …
…
_Consumers on the fixed-wireless network experience similar issues. The committee has heard from a number of people that the speeds consumers are receiving on the fixed-wireless network are not the speeds they were promised and are paying for.

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#655
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#656

Not NBN, as such. For some, Vivid was a viable alternative.

Any new customers looking for a wireless 4G service (so not NBN), can still apply for a new service through the Optus website and your local Optus Stores, though the plans are much lower in included data

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#657

Every competitor Optus has taken over has been shut down and every reseller, as well as almost all dealers, has been shafted.

I love the part in the article stating “The news of the closure came on the same day that Optus launched its second instalment of Optus’ network campaign which equates bad mobile coverage with a jail sentence, telling customers: “If it’s not right, walk away.”

I assume that they are recommending all their customers move to Telstra and Vodafone.

image

#658

With Optus now offering a bonus on their top 4G mobile broadband plan (12 months contract) you get 200GB per month for $60pm byo device! Standard offer is 100GB per month usage.

Telstra have their usual not so compelling offer of 80GB pm from $69pm (12 month contract) or they will throw in a free 4GX wireless modem on a 24 month plan.

Lunch time on a weekday my iphone 8 on Optus and only 2 bars 4G signal strength using Okla speedtest reports 19Mbps download, 1.59Mbps upload and 30ms ping.

Do I really need the NBN FW solution?
It’s open to debate considering iinet as an example. For the same monthly spend $59.99 I can get on the NBN FW 500Gb data, but it is on a 12Mps plan. With iinet you need to up to $80pm to get the faster 25Mbps from the NBN, assuming that the local network has the capacity.

Telstra’s most basic NBN FW plans are based on 100MB pm data allowance starting from $69pm with most phone calls extra if your local area is outside the nearest town!

And for speed


12MBps plans deliver 2-5Mbps peak evening speeds
25MBps plans deliver 2-10Mbps peak evening speeds
50MBps plans deliver 2-20Mbps peak evening speeds

The most obvious benefit of the NBN FW service compared to using a mobile service provider is the option for higher data allowances.
If you are fortunate enough to have suitable mobile coverage with both Telstra and Optus or Vodaphone in competition with FW it may be the NBN will just have to accept loosing lower demand customers who choose not to connect to the FW network. One less tower upgrade to fund?

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#659

So they’re offering State-owned assets to address shortcomings in the Federal government project to repair harm done by privatisation of Federally-owned assets.

#660

The OPGW throughout Queensland has been available to he commercial sector for many years. I suspect that the government is releasing this as a good news story, but it is old news.

It has been used in the past to provide network to the telcos and also for re-routes when there is a fault on their own fibre networks to maintain connectivity of mobile and data networks.

Possibly the only new news is that the asset will be moved from one government owned corporation into another. I expect that this will create the necessary efficiencies which is evident from other similar restructures?

#661

OPGW, whch is the non current carrying ground wire in electricity transmission lines has been available with an internal FO (fibre optic) cable bundle for at least two decades. Hence the Queensland high voltage electricity network was upgraded with FO for control and monitoring and? It has also been deployed by major companies including mining operations.

This has one weakness, break the line and it is a more complex repair best done with a new replacement cable. Although such lines are designed to withstand most threats.

Telstra, and the combined wisdom of our Federal Ministers with the NBN Co adopted a put it all underground solution.

There are many locations around the globe where fibre is run above ground. Most often this has been for the last hundreds of metres to make the final connection. Many Aussie homes had cable delivered in a similar manner.

So it is good that there may be other options for back haul. It is disappointing that the use of FO OPGW was not used as part of the local network solutions in rural areas. Although the politics of asset ownership and ensuring the Telstra centric NBN solution may have been significant in avoiding the option.

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#662

They rarely break…would need possible a line to catastrophically fail with the collapse resulting in the OPGW breaking/being damaged. An event may be such as cyclone or tornado. Having OPGW failing would be the least of ones worries in such circumstances. In very cold climates, I expect that the OPGW would be damaged by excessive ice buildup causing extra line tension damaging the fibres particularly at contact/mounting points. Such events don’t occur in Australia.

If there is a break, this can be resolved by a new section of cable with joint boxes placed at adjacent towers. The repair, while potentially more expensive than a standard underground fibre, it is possible and practicable.

They pose different risks and challenged to buried cables. Buried cables suffer from the accidental damage from digging which occurs more regularly than it possibly should.

Yes, it was more about politics and also potentially the fear of other’s having interests/access to a underutilised sate owned asset. The capacity of OPGW is enormous, the amount needed for operational requirements is minuscule in comparison. It is an asset which could have been better utilised and exploited, if the powers to be decided to work together rather than play politics.

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#663

… just when you thought it couldn’t get stranger … at least the ‘masters of the obvious’ have awoken as we hurtle towards the holy grail of ‘lowest common denominator’ …

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#664

A subject dear to my heart. I’d strongly suggest that 430 a day is the tip of the iceberg, based on mine and my colleagues experience with ‘technicians’ reporting they had attended - they do not have to actually attend your premises to count ‘attendance’, and often don’t … I’ve had a number of cases personally where they never showed but claimed to have fixed the problem at the node or in a pit/pillar - one in particular where they claimed to visit the premises and test our modem - seems they sent ‘the invisible man’ - nobody showed. It’s quite simply the biggest standing joke with NBN appointments from everything I’ve seen, read and experienced …

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