As expected, the NBN revised plan has been released, detailing exactly which suburbs will get FTTP access, and when. In essence, a quarter of Australian premises will get a robust network, and the rest of us take our chances.
Image: G Meyer
It had been widely tipped that the new plan would see a mix that prioritised FTTN connections, as per the Coalition government’s preferred technology solution, although the practical realities of getting contracts signed and trucks rolling means that only a blind optimist would still be putting any hope in the “All Australians will have 25Mbps” promise that the government went to election with. Then again, it’s not as though the rollout under the previous government was spotless either.
The new plan will, according to the NBN Co release, “bring fast broadband to 1.9 million homes and businesses by June 2016”, although as ITNews notes, it’s a radical cut back from the planned 4.8 million premises that were due to be connected under the previous plan, and includes a number of areas where construction work is already underway. Although it is fair to note that the previous plan was scaled back itself a number of times, and missed a number of deadlines as well.
The promise from here is that the NBN Plan will be updated each quarter “with further detail to reflect ongoing variations brought about by process and technology improvements”, but it’s quite pro-MTM (as you’d expect — NBN Co has to please its government masters no matter who’s in charge in Canberra), with a claim of 8 million connections by 2020. NBN Co’s plan calls for Fibre To The Basement connections to be available to ISPs by the first quarter of 2015, while Fibre To The Node connections should be available by the third quarter of next year. The current plan makes no assumptions about HFC or long term satellite services at all, so if you’re in an HFC area, you’re still off the plan, officially speaking. There’s also a significant quantity of hedging around actual delivered speeds, in line with the dropping of service guarantees that’s now part of the new NBN model.
It’s also worth noting that much of this plan rests on NBN Co being able to negotiate contracts with both Optus and Telstra in reasonably fast order. History would suggest that’s less than likely, especially as the MTM proposal puts significantly more bargaining power in the hands of the telcos than the previous (and finalised) NBN negotiations did. Both Telstra and Optus are businesses, and it’s in their best interests to maximise their profits over all other considerations — and the MTM NBN’s financial viability could rest on what they, particularly Telstra, decide is a “fair” deal for their services.
Here’s NBN Co’s exact rollout table for both FTTP and FTTN connections for your reading pleasure, although you can always just drop your address into NBN Co’s interactive map as well. Over at Lifehacker, Angus Kidman has put together an interactive map if you want to check exact rollout targets and technology types that’s well worth checking out.
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Queensland |
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Region |
Parts of suburbs and towns covered |
Estimated total number of premises covered |
Estimated total number of suburbs and towns |
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Central QLD |
Agnes Water (surrounds), Biloela (surrounds), Calliope (surrounds), Gladstone (surrounds), Lammermoor (surrounds), Mount Morgan (surrounds), Frenchville, Moranbah, Parkhurst, Rockhampton |
33,900 |
10 |
||
|
Far North QLD |
Atherton, Babinda, Cairns, Innisfail, Mareeba, Ravenshoe (surrounds), Tully (surrounds), Cooktown, Edge Hill, Edmonton, Freshwater, Gordonvale, Mission Beach, Port Douglas |
65,900 |
14 |
||
|
Greater Brisbane |
Acacia Ridge, Aspley, Bundamba, Bribie Island, Caboolture, Dayboro, Greenbank, Ipswich, Jimboomba, Petrie, Logan Village, Samford, Nudgee, Ningi, Redland Bay, Rosewood, Warner |
95,000 |
17 |
||
|
Northern QLD |
Airlie Beach, Deeragun, Half Tide Beach, Haliday Bay, Ingham, Mackay, Proserpine, Alice River, Ayr, Bowen, Collinsville, Mirani, Sarina, Townsville |
42,800 |
14 |
||
|
Southern QLD |
Beaudesert, Boonah (surrounds), Kilcoy (surrounds), Maudsland, St George (surrounds), Dalby, Gatton, Kingsthorpe, Newtown, Oakey |
40,800 |
10 |
||
|
Sunshine Coast |
Beerwah (surrounds), Maleny (surrounds), Nambour, Pomona (surrounds), Maroochydore, Wurtulla |
46,600 |
6 |
||
|
Wide Bay-Burnett |
Blackbutt (surrounds), Bundaberg, Childers (surrounds), Howard (surrounds), Maryborough (surrounds), Monto (surrounds), Murgon (surrounds), Nanango (surrounds), North Gooburrum (surrounds), Gympie |
54,000 |
10 |
||
|
Total |
379,000 |
81 |
|||
|
Tasmania |
|
||||
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Northern Tasmania |
Bridport, Beaconsfield, Bicheno, Burnie, Campbell Town, Devonport, East Devonport, Evandale, Exeter, Launceston, Legana, Longford, Penguin, Perth, Port Sorell, Queenstown, Railton, Rosebery, Scamander, Scottsdale (surrounds), South Launceston, St Marys, Ulverstone, Windermere, Westbury, Wynyard, Zeehan |
55,000 |
27 |
||
|
Southern Tasmania |
Bellerive, Cambridge, Cremorne, Cygnet, Dodges Ferry, Geeveston, Hobart, Huonville-Ranelagh, Margate, New Norfolk, Glenorchy, Orford, Pontville, Richmond, South Arm, Swansea, Taroona |
51,000 |
17 |
||
|
Total |
106,000 |
44 |
|||
|
New South Wales |
|
||||
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Greater Sydney |
Appin, Avalon Beach, Berowra, Blacktown, Campsie, Campbelltown, Homebush, Kellyville, Katoomba, Liverpool, Mulgoa, Blackheath, Elderslie, Narellan, The Oaks, Penrith, Richmond, Rouse Hill, Tahmoor |
148,500 |
19 |
||
|
Central Coast |
Buff Point, Gosford, Gorokan, Long Jetty, Narara, Terrigal, Woy Woy, Wyong |
107,700 |
8 |
||
|
Illawarra |
Albion Park, Corrimal, Gerringong, Kiama (surrounds), Nowra-Bomaderry, Port Kembla, Shell Harbour, Wollongong |
84,000 |
8 |
||
|
Newcastle and Hunter |
Belmont, Boolaroo, Charlestown, Dungog (surrounds), Hamilton, Maitland, Mayfield, Morisset, Muswellbrook (surrounds), Nelson Bay, New Lambton, Singleton (surrounds) |
160,000 |
12 |
||
|
South Coast |
Batemans Bay (surrounds), Bawley Point (surrounds), Bega (surrounds), Bermagui (surrounds), Callala Bay, Merimbula (surrounds), Moruya (surrounds), Narooma (surrounds), Shoalhaven Heads (surrounds), St Georges Basin-Sanctuary Point, Sussex Inlet, Ulladulla (surrounds) |
22,100 |
13 |
||
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Central West |
Bathurst (surrounds), Blayney (surrounds), Cowra, Dubbo, Gulgong, Molong, Mudgee, Oberon (surrounds), Orange, Parkes (surrounds), Wellington |
46,300 |
11 |
||
|
Mid-North Coast |
Bellingen (surrounds), Camden Haven, Harrington (surrounds), Kempsey (surrounds), South West Rocks, Wauchope (surrounds), Woolgoolga (surrounds) |
8,800 |
7 |
||
|
Riverina |
Corowa (surrounds), Deniliquin (surrounds), Finley (surrounds), Griffith (surrounds), Howlong (surrounds), Lavington (surrounds), Temora (surrounds), Tumut (surrounds), Wagga Wagga (surrounds) |
3,500 |
9 |
||
|
New England |
Quirindi |
100 |
1 |
||
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Northern Rivers |
Alstonville (surrounds), Casino (surrounds), Grafton (surrounds), Hastings Point (surrounds), Kingscliff (surrounds), Kyogle (surrounds), Lismore (surrounds), Maclean (surrounds), Mullumbimby (surrounds), Terranora (surrounds), Tweed Heads |
33,200 |
11 |
||
|
Southern Highlands |
Cootamundra (surrounds), Goulburn, Marulan (surrounds), Mittagong, Moss Vale, Queanbeyan, Yass, Young |
42,500 |
8 |
||
|
Southern Tablelands |
Bombala (surrounds), Braidwood (surrounds), Cooma (surrounds), Gundagai (surrounds), Jindabyne (surrounds) |
2,300 |
5 |
||
|
Total |
659,000 |
112 |
|||
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Northern Territory |
|
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Darwin Region |
Berrimah, Palmerston, Nightcliff
|
12,000 |
3 |
|
East Arnhem Land |
Nhulunbuy |
1,000 |
1 |
|
Barkly Region |
Tannent Creek |
1,000 |
1 |
|
Katherine Region |
Katherine |
2,000 |
1 |
|
Central Australia |
Alice Springs |
9,000 |
1 |
|
Total |
25,000 |
7 |
|
|
South Australia |
|||
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Adelaide Hills |
Lenswood, Macclesfield, Mt Barker, Stirling |
21,000 |
4 |
|
Barossa Valley |
Kapunda, Nuriootpa |
5,900 |
2 |
|
Eyre Peninsula |
Ceduna (surrounds), Port Lincoln (surrounds) |
1,300 |
2 |
|
Far North |
Port Augusta |
5,900 |
1 |
|
Fleurieu Peninsula |
Goolwa, Port Elliot and Victor Harbor, Strathalbyn (surrounds), Yankalilla |
10,800 |
4 |
|
Greater Adelaide |
Aldinga, St Marys, Gawler, Gepps Cross, Lonsdale, Modbury, Reynella |
84,500 |
7 |
|
Limestone Coast |
Bordertown (surrounds), Mount Gambier (surrounds), Penola (surrounds) |
800 |
3 |
|
Murraylands and Riverland |
Barmera, Berri, Loxton, Meningie, Mannum, Murray Bridge, Renmark, Tailem Bend, Waikerie |
16,000 |
9 |
|
Yorke and Mid North |
Balaklava, Burra, Crystal Brook, Clare, Jamestown, Port Broughton, Port Pirie, Peterborough, Riverton, Yorketown (surrounds) |
15,000 |
10 |
|
Total: |
161,000 |
42 |
|
|
Western Australia |
|||
|
Greater Perth |
Applecross, Armadale, Cannington, South Coogee, Doubleview, Kelmscott, Meadow Springs, Quinns Rocks, Rockingham, South Perth, Victoria Park |
132,300 |
11 |
|
Peel |
Herron, Pinjarra (surrounds), Preston Beach, Waroona, Mandurah |
25,700 |
5 |
|
South West |
Augusta (surrounds), Bridgetown (surrounds), Brunswick Junction (surrounds), Busselton, Collie, Dunsborough, Margaret River (surrounds), Australind, Bunbury, Capel, Donnybrook, Harvey, Myalup |
55,000 |
13 |
|
Great Southern |
Albany (surrounds), Denmark (surrounds), Katanning (surrounds) |
1,600 |
3 |
|
Wheatbelt |
Jurien, Lancelin, Merredin (surrounds), Narrogin (surrounds), Northam (surrounds), Pingelly (surrounds), Toodyay (surrounds), Wongan Hills (surrounds), Cervantes, Woodridge Estate |
8,700 |
10 |
|
Mid-West-Gascoyne |
Dongara, Geraldton, Kalbarri, Leeman, Northampton |
10,700 |
5 |
|
Pilbara |
Karratha |
6,000 |
1 |
|
Total: |
240, 000 |
48 |
|
|
Victoria |
|
||
|
Greater Melbourne |
Ballan, Beaconsfield Upper, Craigieburn, Dromana, Footscray, Karingal, Keysborough, Kings Park, Kilmore, Melton, Mornington, Mount Eliza, Rye, Shoreham, Sunbury, Tooradin, Warburton, Werribee, Whittlesea |
105,900 |
19 |
|
Barwon South West |
Cobden (surrounds), Colac, Hamilton (surrounds), Mortlake (surrounds), Warrnambool, Apollo Bay-Marengo, Anglesea, Lorne, Ocean Grove-Barwon Heads, Portarlington ,Torquay, Winchelsea |
62,000 |
12 |
|
Gippsland |
Bairnsdale (surrounds), Foster (surrounds), Garfield, Heyfield, Lang Lang (surrounds), Moe-Yallourn (surrounds), Orbost (surrounds), Sale (surrounds), Traralgon, Warragul, Cowes, Inverloch, Mirboo North, Newhaven, Stratford, Wonthaggi |
54,500 |
16 |
|
Grampians |
Ballarat, Dimboola (surrounds), St Arnaud (surrounds), Warracknabeal (surrounds), Bannockburn, Clunes, Daylesford |
8,000 |
7 |
|
Loddon Malle |
Bendigo (surrounds), Cohuna (surrounds), Eaglehawk (surrounds), Echuca-Moama (surrounds), Kerang (surrounds), Kyabram (surrounds), Kyneton, Mildura (surrounds), Robinvale (surrounds), Rochester (surrounds), Wedderburn (surrounds), Castlemaine, Mount Macedon, Romsey |
23,500 |
14 |
|
North East |
Alexandra (surrounds), Chiltern (surrounds), Cobram (surrounds), Mansfield (surrounds), Myrtleford (surrounds), Nathalia (surrounds), Numurkah (surrounds), Wangaratta, Wodonga (surrounds), Yarrawonga-Mulwala (surrounds), Broadford, Shepparton, Wallan |
32,100 |
13 |
|
Total |
286,000 |
81 |
|
|
ACT |
|
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|
Canberra |
Gungahlin |
1,300 |
1 |
|
Civic |
16,500 |
1 |
|
|
Kambah |
16,100 |
1 |
|
|
Scullin |
23,100 |
1 |
|
|
Total |
57,000 |
4 |
|
|
National Total |
1, 913, 000 |
419 |
|
Table: NBN Co
So what’s the take-home value? It’s much the same as it was when the MTM NBN plan was revealed. FTTP is still the end game point that — even NBN Co’s Simon Hackett admits as much — will drive the real value in the network. As such, if you’re in the FTTP footprint now, or the new plan indicates that you’re going to be, you’re one of the lucky ones.