Press Release.

The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, today released draft instruments setting out the network information that carriers are to provide for the National Broadband Network project, and the rules to safeguard the information.

“The release of these instruments is an important step forward to ensure National Broadband Network proponents can prepare robust proposals ,” Senator Conroy said.

“The Government has always been committed to ensuring that proponents have access to necessary network information in order to prepare their proposals.”

“The scope of network information to be provided has been prepared following consultation with proponents, as well as advice from our specialist expert advisers and relevant Government agencies.”

“Based on this independent expert advice, the Government is of the view that the information set proposed is sufficient for the preparation of robust proposals.”

“The seriousness with which we have approached this task demonstrates our commitment to a genuinely competitive process for the NBN. Our approach can be contrasted with the previous government’s broadband process last year which did not propose to make any network information available to proponents,” Senator Conroy said.

The Government has decided to request the network information from carriers under legislative provisions recently introduced into the Telecommunications Act 1997.

“In previous consultations carriers have indicated that they are prepared to provide information voluntarily. The Government’s approach still provides carriers with an opportunity to submit voluntarily, but also ensures that all relevant information will be provided within clear timeframes,” Senator Conroy said.

The Government will now consult with carriers on the draft instruments. Following careful consideration of their submissions the Government will be moving to make a decision about final instruments expeditiously.

Once network information is provided to proponents, they will have 12 weeks to finalise their proposals. This will mean proposals will now be received towards the end of 2008.

“This extra time will ensure that proponents have the information required to develop their proposals.”

According to a new report from the FTTH Council Europe, improvements in broadband connectivity speeds are having a direct impact on consumer bandwidth usage, with demand per broadband home growing at almost 20% per annum over the last 5 years. The research, undertaken with Ventura Team LLP, is believed to be the first of its kind to directly test the hypothesis of Nielsen's Law of Internet bandwidth against patterns of fibre and ADSL broadband usage in Europe.

Joeri Van Bogaert, president of the FTTH Council Europe, explains, "Everyone is familiar with Moore's Law for Computing, and Nielsen's Law takes a similar approach to measuring Internet bandwidth. Whilst Moore sees computing power grow 60% annually, Nielsen states that the bandwidth available to a high end user grows at 50% per year. For the first time, we wanted to find out if this increase in available speed is true and is related to an increase in consumer demand and usage."

In summary, the FTTH Council Europe report findings are as follows:

• European broadband speeds are rising at 50%+ per annum.
• High end broadband usage per home is growing at 20% per annum.
• FTTH broadband homes drive 3x more traffic than ADSL in Europe.

The first part of the research tested Nielsen's Law from a technology perspective. It was found that a decade after it was first conceived, Nielsen's Law is still working well as a guide to the trend in broadband speeds, as the growth rate of 50% per annum held true for all European countries evaluated.

Secondly, the study tested Nielson's Law from a usage perspective, examining European broadband traffic patterns across a sample of 100,000 broadband homes using FTTH. The results of this research show that high speed broadband usage is growing at an annual rate of 20%.

To further qualify this growth in user demand for increased bandwidth, the study compared fibre broadband usage with ADSL across four European countries and found that fibre homes currently drive three times more traffic than ADSL homes. Floyd Wagoner of the FTTH Council Europe's Market Intelligence Committee that headed up this research explains:

"This rise in usage when fibre networks are in use is significant at this stage of market evolution. Already there is a large difference between the traffic used by ADSL and fibre users, and this despite the fact that many of the mass market applications that will realise the potential of fibre are not even available yet. We expect this to increase significantly as fibre adoption continues to increase across Europe and further services are developed with fibre in mind."

According to Van Bogaert, the message is simple, "When customers have faster connections they use them more. When discussing FTTH business cases and investments, two basic questions about bandwidth always arise: Who needs all that bandwidth and what will they use it for? I think the findings provide a compelling answer. For example, despite the advancement in the motor industry, the average speed of today's modern car is actually under 30km/h, but that doesn't mean that the driver never exceeds this speed. The same can be said for broadband usage; when the opportunity to utilise it to its full potential arises, consumers grasp it with both hands."

This is the first step of the Council's research into significant trends in broadband consumer behaviour, and the Council's Market Intelligence Committee will be undertaking further examination of these trends throughout 2008. These additional findings will be announced at the FTTH Council Europe's next annual conference to be held in Copenhagen on 11th-12th February 2009. For more information go to www.conference.ftthcouncil.eu

Credit: Fibresystems.org

In another FTTH announcement by a national carrier, Switzerland's incumbent operator (Swisscom) is focusing on deploying fibre optical networks to be able to compete with Swiss utility providers.

According to Swisscom CEO Carsten Schloter in an interview with Weltwoche, he said that the backbone of Swisscom's network has been transferred to fibre during the past year and the focus is now on rolling-out fibre to the home (FTTH), replacing the copper cables, which currently connect switches to the households.

Schloter mainly sees cable network operators as its competitors, as he thinks that alternative fixed network operator Sunrise is not able to invest in FTTH deployments. At the same time, Swisscom has proposed to its competitors to jointly roll-out a Switzerland-wide fibre optical network, targeting operators that are already investing in FTTH. The first pilot networks will be rolled out next month.

But in Australia, we just sit back waiting for the world to pass us by. Why are we even talking about FTTN! If its a funding issue (which in my opinion its not) it would be more beneficial to our economy and the community to roll out FTTH to 70% of households than FTTN to 98% of households.

In an initiative worth £1.5bn (A$3.1), British Telecom has announced plans to roll out fibre connectivity to 10 million homes throughout the United Kingdom.

According to BT the plans are to supply a mix of FTTH and deep fibre FTTN to 10 million domestic premises across the UK, eventually reaching a target of 40 per cent of homes by 2012. FTTH will predominately deployed in greenfield developments such as that already piloted at Ebbsfleet and the Olympic Village. The deep fibre FTTN technology will be used in existing residential developments.

Homes benefiting from FTTH will get top speeds of up to 100Mbps, while those using a copper connection to a street cabinet will get speeds of up to 40Mbps. BT said this will make it possible for households to run multiple high-bandwidth applications, such as TV.

CEO Ian Livingston said “We now want to make a step-change in broadband provision which will offer faster speeds than ever before. This marks the beginning of a new chapter in Britain’s broadband story. We want to work with local and regional bodies to decide where and when we should focus the deployment. Our aim is that urban and rural areas alike will benefit from our investment”

BT is reacting to the increasing consumer demand to be able to access and run multiple bandwithintensive services simultaneously.

Fibre Network operator Service Elements and their retail service provider FUZECONNECT (http://www.fuzeconnect.com.au) today launched a Fibre-to-the-Home solution for the community at Banksia Grove (http://www.banksiagrove.net.au) – a master-planned community in a northern suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Banksia Grove residents will be able to receive some of the fastest “residential Internet” packages in Australia.

The project, which commenced in December 2005, will involve the reticulation of fibre throughout the $750 million estate connecting in excess of 3500 homes to television, phone and high speed Internet services over the next 10 years. The project may be extended to over 8000 homes.

FUZECONNECT starter packages will give residents up to $1600 worth of discounts, which includes access to high definition television, voice services and Australia’s fastest residential broadband internet service. Residents can choose from various Internet plans starting from as low as $19.95 up to $149.95 for a 25Mbps symmetrical 100GB plan (something not usually available in residential environments). FUZECONNECT will also be looking at offering customers a video on demand solution, giving residents the ability to download the latest release videos in high definition.

Speaking at the launch, Service Elements CEO Steve Appleby said "The Fibre network we have implemented for the developer and residents at Banksia Grove gives us the ability to deliver applications and services normally not available in residential estates. We will be offering Video on Demand as the estate rolls out and have the ability to increase network speeds as required to keep up with future demands”

Developers of the estate, PRM Property Group and Walker Corporation, have started afresh by avoiding many of the mistakes of past residential developments. Project Manager Jeremy Cordina said “when designing the masterplan for Banksia Grove we wanted to ensure all residents had access to the latest leading edge technology available in the market. After extensive research and looking at solutions from across Australia, we appointed FUZEconnect based on their range of services and world class internet speed options. Our vision is for all homes in Banksia Grove to have access to the fastest and most reliable Internet service available – whether it be for education, employment or recreation. “

“Importantly the fibre optic cable will also provide all free to air analog and digital TV so home owners will not need to install an external TV antenna – saving money and keeping rooflines clean. I’m excited to announce that after years of planning the first homes are now being connected to the Banksia Grove fibre optic cable and we look forward to hearing the feedback from these first residents over the next few months.”