In a position paper released on Friday, Bill Morrow is frank about the challenges of fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) technology and use of the copper network, a signature policy of Malcolm Turnbull in his time as communications minister. During that period the FTTN network delivers maximum download speeds of 12Mbps and upload speeds of 1Mbps, compared with maximum download speeds of 25Mbps and upload speeds of 5Mbps afterwards. Pre-existing infrastructure “is sometimes worse than anticipated”, Morrow said, but the solution is a “reasonable trade-off” for the faster rollout and lower cost. “Our business plan today assumes a healthy amount of competition but some are questioning whether it is enough,” Morrow said. NBN has also announced 1.5m homes and businesses who are not already connected to FTTN will get new fibre-to-the-kerb technology over the next two years, which is faster because it uses less of the copper network.

Source: The Guardian April 27, 2018 02:26 UTC