This appeared a few days ago.
NBN withholds individual internet speeds
- The Australian
- 8:00PM June 20, 2017
Anthony Klan
The National Broadband Network has details of the achievable internet speeds for every home it has connected but refuses to release the information despite widespread confusion among consumers seeking to connect.
The fact NBN Co has both “theoretical” speeds — the speeds it expects homes not yet connected will achieve — and actual speeds post-connection also raises questions as to the necessity of a $7 million federal government program to monitor connection speeds in 4000 homes.
Industry experts interviewed by The Australian have raised concerns NBN Co has widespread detailed net speed information and is not releasing it publicly but only to retail telco providers, who may have financial incentives to suppress the information.
Under the NBN model, telco retailers such as Telstra and Optus buy internet data from the NBN and then sell NBN connections to the public. The telcos decide how much or how little expensive “bandwidth” to buy from NBN Co alongside the data they purchase.
The bandwidth determines the speed users can experience during peak times, such as weeknights.
As previously revealed, retailers have been selling packages of 25 megabits per second, 50Mbps and 100Mbps, but the failure to also buy adequate bandwidth — a financial decision by the telco — has meant some users are achieving peak-time speeds of as little as 1/500th of the speeds they signed up for.
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has found 80 per cent of internet users are confused over internet speed.
As revealed yesterday, telcos Optus, Dodo and MyRepublic have called on NBN Co to release publicly the theoretical maximum internet speed homes should be achieving under the NBN — that is, estimated speeds before connection — to inform the marketplace and reduce confusion among consumers.
Lots more here:
I am not sure this is the way a publicly owned utility should be behaving – are you? Anecdotally I am hearing of delays of 4-5 days to even tell people if the source of their fault is NBN or retailer based…that sure is not good enough.
Equally we are seeing serious material like this identifying real issues in the NBN roll-out that is magnifying inequality.
Three charts on: the NBN and Australia’s digital divide
Editor: Melissa Sweet Authors: Ashley Schram, Fran Baum, Matt Fisher, Patrick Harris, Sharon Friel and Toby Freemanon: June 21, 2017.
Let’s spend billions of dollars widening the social, economic and health gap between people who are already quite privileged and those who are not so well off.
Is that what we’re doing with the National Broadband Network (NBN)?
OK, that may be a touch hyperbolic but the article below suggests there is mounting evidence that the NBN rollout is more likely to exacerbate than alleviate health inequities.
And there are other reports of variable access to the NBN within regions (see the tweet below from former MP Tony Windsor about differential access in regional NSW, responding to these concerns about inequitable access in Bendigo, relative to other regional centres in Victoria).
The article below is by researchers from the Centre for Research Excellence in the Social Determinants of Health Equity and was first published at The Conversation.
See the full – and very useful article – here:
I have a feeling the NBN is turning out to be a lemon on an epic multi tens of billions of dollars scale.
I hardly feel better when I read material like this:
The NBN: how a national infrastructure dream fell short
Tooran Alizadeh
It would be good if we could actually get the NBN we were promised all those years ago by one Kevin!
If it keeps going the way is has to date the NBN will make the myHR look a great deal less of a failure and cheap at many time the price. It has all the hallmarks of a great Government scandal.
David.
8 comments:
Open transparent and engaging right up to the point they hit a bump in the road then they calm up and scattered like frightened birds. This is the same with the ADHA, now the honeymoon is drawing to and end and the hard questions remain unanswered all we get is speeches from behind the safety of a lectern or website.
We do not hind behind lecterns, perhaps you should join the rest of the community at The Australian Digital Health Agency launch of the new Developer Partner Program on Tuesday 4 July 2017, 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM AEST.
You will see first hand the owesome new look developer website, and be able to engage in discussions on the broader developer activities.
It is going to be a feasts for all the sensors and finally prove that those who think the MyHR is wrong will be proven wrong.
The Deveoper event is something worth watching it is certainly being billed as a key event. However ANON these things are hardly mainstream IT events, be lucky to get a few sarnies.
Both great articles David. The NBN seems to be heading as you point out into yet another major GovStuffup. I really wonder how the recruitment and promotion processes work in these arganisations, does anyone actually have to demonstrate skills and domain knowledge or is it simply how well you fool a behavioural set of questions?
After 1-3 Mb on ADSL for years was glad the NBN arrived and went for 100Mb connection. When first connected managed 46Mb which I thought was pretty reasonable. However within a few weeks all I get is 2-5Mb speeds, a marginal improvement on ADSL. They refunded some money without being asked but really 5Mb is pretty poor considering the promises. Given that I was getting 46Mb when first connected it suggests the bandwidth from the Box to the exchange must be pretty limited! Its telstra so yet to have a free half a day to try and complain, unlikely to be a useful exersise anyway. I can at least mostly watch SD movies without watching the circle spin, but its not as promised.
Dear Andrew McIntyre,
What type of NBN connection do you have: FTTH; FTTB; FTTN (VDSL); or HFC (previously the pay-TV cable from Foxtel/Optus)?
The Netflix era is putting a large strain on available bandwidth. The costs of ISP's using the NBN is higher than what users are willing to pay.
FTTN is what I have. It appears the copper is capable of doing at least 46MB but that was just after installed. I was probably one of first connected in street.
I'm still on ADSL - NBN is not available here. I'm down to <1MB/s. I'm hanging out for an improvement to 4Mb/s. I think I'd get better speeds in the 3rd world, from talking to people who live there...
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