New nbnTM roadmap reveals HFC tests to start in Q4 nbnTM, the entity charged with building and operating Australia's national broadband network (NBN) has released a new product roadmap. The new plan (PDF) reveals that retail service providers will be provided with a Network Sandpit for HFC” in 2015's fourth quarter. In Q2 of 2016, “HFC Business Readiness Testing” will commence …
That makes you only slightly worse off than I am.
My Queensland house is in an area that was theoretically going to get NBN wireless two months ago. We currently have NBN Satellite that on a cloudy day provides a snails pace 0.026Mbps download and 0.012Mbps upload according to my ScanmySpeed.com screenshot. That is less than half the speed of an ancient 56k modem for downloads and less than a quarter for uploads. "Good on ya NBN"
On September 28 last year we watched the new NBN wireless tower and three cranes go past our front door TWICE over about a one hour period.
On the second time for each vehicle, as they backed up to a place they could turn around, we went out to ask where they were headed (see below for reason) and then we gave them directions on how to get to the site they needed on Herbeners Road (about 800 metres away as the crow flies).
Soon after midday the tower was up and visible from my place.
Because NBN refused to say when it would be operational and their web site showed that Service Providers had not been contracted I eventually wrote to the minister in January.
According to his reply all would be finished in May.
We are now in July and the Service Providers have been announced but even they cannot say when the service will be operational.
To put this in perspective I work (fly in fly out) in Papua New Guinea and the company I work for has occasionally transported communication towers and facilities into extremely remote areas for TelekomPNG and Digicell. The installation staff for both organisations are nationals, mainly with only a year 8 education and they must do a complete solar power installation as well as the communications installation.
THE PAPUA NEW GUINEANS NORMALLY HAVE THEIR TOWERS OPERATIONAL WITHIN 48 HOURS OF THE TOWER AND STAFF BEING HELICOPTERED IN. That is because skilled staff with skilled management can do things efficiently.
NBN with its "better educated" staff have so far taken over NINE MONTHS, probably a world record for time wasting and incompetence.
The INITIAL reason all the trucks came past our place is because they were using GPS maps provided by Telstra subsidiary Sensis. Because we are more than 100km from the state capital CBD Sensis do not give a **** about providing accurate maps.
According to their maps our road connects directly into Herbeners Rd when in fact it stops at the creek 200 metres past us.
The reason that the second third and fourth vehicles came past our place is that not only is NBNCo not intelligent enough to provide the contractors with accurate maps but its contractors are not smart enough to use their CB radios to call, or cell phones to text, the other drivers on the job with the correct information.
The maps are so bad locally that Wagonwheel Court still does not even show. It is only 11 years old so I guess that we are being over critical of Telstra and its subsidiaries.
Therefore it does not matter if your place is on the roadmap because the roadmap is just a PR exercise put out by a pack of liars for use by poLIARticians (and probably with poliarticians telling them what to put on the roadmap).
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