Here are a few I have come across the last week or so. Note:
Each link is followed by a title and a few paragraphs. For the full article
click on the link above title of the article. Note also that full access to
some links may require site registration or subscription payment.
General Comment
-----
There is no doubt the biggest news this week is the Government
admission that maybe it might have been better to go with a good deal more FttP
than the copper nobbled and mixed technology FttN and HFC approach. Given the
unreliability of my NBN HFC connection compared with my previous Optus cable
connection (which pretty much never failed) am convinced I for one have been
messed about big time!
Other fun articles are found before getting to the NBN material.
-----
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-23/queensland-health-auditor-general-report/12692982
Queensland Health IT bungle leaves hospital low on supplies, costs
taxpayers $33m to fix, says Auditor-General
By Allyson Horn
23 September, 2020
The bungled rollout of an online ordering system for Queensland
hospitals that left doctors without supplies, and vendors not being paid, has
cost taxpayers an extra $33 million to fix, according to an investigation by
the Auditor-General.
Key
points:
- Staff did
not know how to use the new online ordering system
- Hospitals
were left without critical supplies, the report found
- $540 million
of vendor invoices were paid late
The review found the financial software, used to order and pay for
vital medical supplies across the state, had "significant issues"
after it was switched in August 2019 and staff didn't know how to use it.
The program was referred for investigation by the State Opposition
last year, which claimed staff were running out of critical supplies and
vendors were refusing to deliver stock because they weren't getting paid.
-----
https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/telehealth-triage-not-safe-chest-pain-study
Telehealth triage 'not safe' for chest pain: study
Findings from a Dutch out-of-hours service shows phone
triage underestimates the condition in more than one quarter of patients
22nd September 2020
By Carmel Sparke
GP out-of-hours
phone triage systems for chest pain are neither safe nor
efficient, a Dutch study suggests.
The
researchers
found the system underestimated the urgency of
chest pain in more than one quarter of patients whose pain later
proved to be either acute coronary syndrome (ACS) or
another life-threatening event.
The
team from the Julius Centre for Health Sciences and Primary
Care in Utrecht listened back to telephone conversations with more
than 2000 patients who called the GP out-of-hours service between
2014 and 2016.
They
compared these with final diagnoses recorded in medical notes.
-----
https://which-50.com/medadvisor-launches-eprescribing-across-australia/
MedAdvisor Launches ePrescribing Across Australia
Staff Writers / September
21, 2020
Medtech
company MedAdvisor has been approved by the Federal Government via the
Australian Digital Health Agency and will be launching its ePrescribing
functionality to help connect GPs, pharmacists and patients as they navigate
the rollout of eScripts across Australia.
The
Federal Government accelerated the rollout of ePrescribing after the COVID-19
pandemic restricted patients’ ability to access their prescribers or
pharmacies. The utility this will provide to facilitate remote medicines
management and accurate dispensing is important in the Australian healthcare
market.
“MedAdvisor
is delighted to be the first in the Australian market with a digital app
solution that helps patients keep track of and organise all their eScripts. The
national rollout of ePrescribing provides patients with convenience, access and
choice — something we’ve been long-time advocates for,” MedAdvisor CEO and
Managing Director Robert Read said.
“Recent
studies in nations that already use ePrescribing show that more than 80 per
cent of patients prefer eScripts to paper. By providing continued excellence in
customer service, combined with hyper-convenient patient experiences, local
pharmacists can strengthen their loyal customer base and better compete with
online pharmacies.”
-----
https://www.digitalhealth.gov.au/news-and-events/news/media-release-electronic-prescriptions-available-throughout-victoria-following-success-in-greater-melbourne
Media release - Electronic prescriptions available throughout Victoria
following success in Greater Melbourne
24
September, 2020: All Victorians will soon have access to electronic prescriptions
as they are made available to the entire state beyond the initial rollout in
Greater Melbourne.
There
has been significant uptake of electronic prescriptions since they were made
available across Greater Melbourne in August. Since then more than 34,000
electronic prescriptions have been received by patients in Melbourne from around
1000 prescribers and 600 community pharmacies.
Nationally,
more than 100,000 electronic prescriptions have been written since May when the
Australian Digital Health Agency started implementing the new technology as a
way to support Australians during COVID-19.
If
a patient prefers to receive an electronic prescription rather than paper from
their doctor, they will receive an SMS or email. The patient then sends or
takes this to their pharmacy of choice.
-----
https://www.miragenews.com/electronic-prescriptions-available-throughout-victoria-following-success-in-greater-melbourne/
September 24, 2020 9:34 am AEST
Electronic prescriptions available throughout Victoria following success
in Greater Melbourne
All
Victorians will soon have access to electronic prescriptions as they are made
available to the entire state beyond the initial rollout in Greater Melbourne.
There
has been significant uptake of electronic prescriptions since they were made
available across Greater Melbourne in August. Since then more than 34,000
electronic prescriptions have been received by patients in Melbourne from
around 1000 prescribers and 600 community pharmacies.
Nationally,
more than 100,000 electronic prescriptions have been written since May when the
Australian Digital Health Agency started implementing the new technology as a
way to support Australians during COVID-19.
If
a patient prefers to receive an electronic prescription rather than paper from
their doctor, they will receive an SMS or email. The patient then sends or
takes this to their pharmacy of choice.
-----
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-24/chemists-say-digital-prescriptions-way-of-the-future/12697404
Digital prescriptions rolled out in Victoria, eliminating need for paper
contact
ABC Gippsland
By
Rio
Davis
24 September, 2020
From today, Victorian doctors can send a script to a patient's
phone or email, eliminating the need for paper contact.
Key
points:
- Patients can
now receive their scripts by SMS or email
- A QR code is
scanned and prescriptions are filled
- Some
patients are concerned about the potential for medications to get into the
wrong hands
Digital medical prescriptions have been trialled across the state
since the start of the coronavirus pandemic to reduce the amount of contact
between health workers and patients.
Patients receive an encrypted script, which can be taken or sent
to a pharmacy to fill the order.
Maffra pharmacist Vin Naidu has been trialling the technology at
his regional pharmacy for the past two months, and he said he had found the
process surprisingly easy.
-----
https://www.warwickdailynews.com.au/news/dans-controversial-detention-plan-set-for-defeat/4105696/
PANDEMIC COULD CHANGE VICTORIANS' PRESCRIPTIONS
All
Victorians will soon have access to electronic prescriptions under a
fast-tracking of new technology to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
After
the successful introduction of electronic prescriptions across Melbourne since
August, the Australian Digital Health Agency will roll out the program across
the rest of the state in coming weeks. To boost the effectiveness of telehealth
consultations, patients can choose to receive an electronic prescription via
email or text message rather than paper from their doctor.
The
text or email contains a token pharmacists can use to unlock the prescription
from a secure, encrypted electronic delivery service.
Although
the technology had been on the drawing board in recent years, Australian
Digital Health Agency interim CEO Bettina McMahon said it was fast tracked in
March after technology and health groups witnessed the impact of COVID-19.
-----
https://themarketherald.com.au/respiri-asxrsh-partners-with-entech-electronics-for-global-wheezo-supply-2020-09-22/
Respiri (ASX:RSH) partners with Entech Electronics for global wheezo
supply
ASX:RSH MCAP
$143.6M
Jessica De Freitas Markets Reporter
jessica.defreitas@themarketherald.com.au
22 September 2020 10:45
- eHealth
company Respiri (RSH) has partnered with Entech Electronics for the global
supply of its wheezo device
- Respiri's
trademark wheezo device is an innovative technology which monitors
wheezing to manage and improve asthma symptoms
- This
partnership will enable the company to significantly scale-up production
to meet the forecasted global demand
- Respiri
has placed its first orders and Entech is preparing to begin production at
its facility in Shenzhen, China
- All
up, 12,000 additional wheezo devices have been commissioned for delivery
from February 2021
- Company
shares are trading 4.55 per cent higher, worth 23 cents each
eHealth
company Respiri (RSH) has appointed Entech Electronics as its global
manufacturing partner to supply its wheezo device.
Entech
Electronics is an Australian-based contract electronics manufacturer and has
over 34 years' experience in the industry.
-----
www.alcidion.com
Watch Alcidion Managing Director Kate Quirke's video Q&A with StockPal
Alcidion is pleased to share a video Q&A with
Managing Director Kate Quirke, who recently sat down with Asia-Pacific investor
news outlet StockPal.
In this Q&A, Kate explains how Alcidion's Miya Precision platform supports
better clinician decision-making, how our revenue model operates and our
competitive advantage. Kate also outlines the opportunities that have arisen as
a result of COVID-19, including deploying Miya Precision to remotely
monitor patients at home.
Watch the full interview by clicking the image above or here.
If you have any questions or comments, please get in touch.
-----
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/researchers-say-not-to-use-mygovid-until-login-flaw-is-fixed-553601
Researchers say not to use myGovID until login flaw is fixed
By Juha Saarinen on Sep 21, 2020
11:52AM
ATO
declines to change protocol.
Two
security researchers are warning Australians not to use myGovID as they say the
login system contains an implementation flaw that could lead to attackers
gaining full access to their accounts.
Masters
student Ben Frengley and adjunct professor Vanessa Teague created
a threat scenario in which an attacker sets up sites that they control and asks
users to log into them with myGovID.
In
the scenario, the attacker captures the email address of the user and then
immediately uses it to try to log into an official government portal.
The
official portal displays a 4-digit PIN that the attacker then relays back to
the user via the controlled site.
-----
https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/it-meltdown-derails-acrrm-fellowship-exam
IT meltdown derails ACRRM fellowship exam
College president Dr Ewen McPhee says testing software failed to
register some candidates' answers
24th September 2020
By Siobhan Calafiore
Some
53 registrars will have to resit one of ACRRM’s fellowship exams after an
IT glitch meant they couldn’t complete the online test.
The
college's three-hour Multiple Choice Questionnaire (MCQ) is one of three exams
that must be passed for fellowship and costs $1545 to sit.
But
the plug was pulled halfway through the test, held earlier this
month at testing centres across the country, after the exam software
stopped registering answers given by a number of candidates.
ACRRM
president Dr Ewen McPhee says all the doctors have been contacted and
offered an apology as well as the option of resitting a pen-and-paper version
on two dates later this year.
-----
https://www.zdnet.com/article/anao-finds-services-australia-lacking-in-cyber-and-cost-aspects-of-wpit/
ANAO finds Services Australia lacking in cyber and cost aspects of WPIT
Audit Office finds at the end of WPIT, there is a chance that the
whole reason for the program, to decommission ISIS, may not occur.
By Chris Duckett | September 25,
2020 -- 06:09 GMT (16:09 AEST) | Topic: Security
Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) on Thursday handed down
its examination of the Services Australia Welfare Payment Infrastructure
Transformation (WPIT) program, finding the agency had "largely appropriate
arrangements" in many areas, but was lacking on the cyber and cost
monitoring fronts.
Kicked
off in 2015, WPIT was originally slated to cost around AU$1.5 billion
and run from 2015 to 2022, with one of the core reasons for the program being
to replace the then-30-year-old Income Security Integrated System (ISIS).
"In
June 2020, the decommissioning of this key element of the system was confirmed
to be the main goal of the welfare payment system redeployment," ANAO
wrote.
"However,
almost half of the decommissioning was not expected to be completed by the end
of the program."
-----
https://www.hospitalhealth.com.au/content/technology/article/passing-the-digital-health-baton-with-confidence-and-certainty-46098194
Passing the digital health baton with confidence and certainty
By Jane Allman
Friday, 25 September, 2020
Accurate
details of healthcare providers and services are key to ensuring efficient and
high-quality care pathways for patients. Out-of-date information means that
patients’ medical documents and information cannot be sent from one healthcare
provider to another, blocking the flow of the patient’s care journey.
Disruption to the flow of patient information from one service provider to
another results in a time-consuming search for correct details — a frustrating
and costly undertaking for busy healthcare practices.
Across
Australia’s healthcare services, changes to staff and location occur on a
regular basis. Practitioners move to other practices; new practitioners come on
board; practices offer additional services or open up in new suburbs. But what
is the process for ensuring the healthcare market hears about these changes?
Until
now, the process has involved forms — 15 to 20 — all requiring the same
information to be completed and sent to separate organisations — Medicare, GP
practices, public health services, health service directories and so on.
Unsurprisingly, not everyone gets the memo.
-----
https://ajp.com.au/news/active-ingredient-script-changes/
Active ingredient script changes
Sheshtyn Paola 23/09/2020
New
legislative changes, requiring active ingredients to be included on most PBS
and RPBS prescriptions, will be mandatory from 1 February 2021
The
2018-19 Budget announced the Federal Government’s commitment to active
ingredient prescribing, with the aim of empowering patients to better
understand their medicines.
Under
new legislative requirements, which are mandatory from 1 February 2021,
prescribers must include active ingredient names when preparing prescriptions
for Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and Repatriation PBS (RPBS) medicines.
From
this date, all eligible PBS and RPBS prescriptions will need to include the active
ingredient, followed by brand if the prescriber believes it is clinically
necessary, says the Department of Health.
There
are some exceptions—the new regulations do not apply to:
- Handwritten
prescriptions;
- Paper-based
medication charts in the residential aged care sector;
- Medicines
with four or more active ingredients; and
- Medicines
that have been excluded to protect patient safety or where it is
impractical to prescribe the medicine by active ingredient.
-----
https://www.ausdoc.com.au/practice/app-review-mylife-tailored-patients-hiv
App Review: MyLife+ is tailored for patients with HIV
This app is high on privacy
24th September 2020
By Antony
Scholefield
The MyLife+
app doesn’t do anything truly original.
It’s
got a medicines reminder function, a diary function, an appointments calendar
and semi-regular health news updates.
However,
it does all these things very well, in a one location, tailored for patients
with HIV — for example it includes features such as the ability to track CD4
count and viral load over time.
The
free app is curated by patient group the National Association of People with
HIV Australia, although the health news is produced by medical
professionals.
-----
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/two-arrested-over-large-scale-sms-phishing-scam-553829
Two arrested over large-scale SMS phishing scam
By Justin Hendry on Sep 24, 2020
11:35AM
Thousands
of Aussies allegedly targeted.
Two
Sydney men have been arrested over their alleged involvement in a large-scale
SMS phishing scam that targeted the personal and financial information of tens
of thousands of Australians.
The
Australian Federal Police arrested the men on Tuesday following a year-long
investigation, codenamed Operation Genmaicha, by its cybercrime operations
teams and NSW Police.
The
investigation began after reports that an Australian-based fraud syndicate was
allegedly sharing information about conducting fraud and phishing attacks on
Australian banks and their customers.
Police
allege the pair controlled several SIM boxes, which were used to send messages
that imitated banks and telcos to dupe victims into providing personal or
financial information.
-----
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/anglicare-sydney-says-17gb-data-transmitted-to-remote-location-after-attack-553654
Anglicare Sydney says 17GB data transmitted to 'remote location' after
attack
By Ry Crozier on Sep 21, 2020 4:35PM
Hit by ransomware
infection.
Anglicare Sydney has revealed 17GB of its data was transmitted
“to a remote location” after a ransomware attack but claims “there is no
current evidence that data has been stolen”.
The retirement and aged care provider said that it was
subject to a “malicious cyber attack” on August 31, which took out its systems.
On Tuesday last week, it confirmed the cause was a ransomware infection,
and it has now provided an update over the weekend pointing to some of the other impacts of the attack
aside from system availability.
While it said that “at this stage, there is no current
evidence that data has been stolen”, it went on to say that it had “identified
17GB of data transmission to a remote location and this forms part of the
forensic investigation in progress.”
-----
Monday, 21 September 2020 05:53
Anglicare Sydney says 17GB of data exfiltrated during ransomware attack
By Sam Varghese
About
17GB of data has been exfiltrated from Anglicare Sydney, a Christian
not-for-profit that supports people across the greater Sydney and Illawarra
regions, to a remote location during a ransomware attack, according to a
statement put out by the organisation.
But
in the same statement, Anglicare claimed there was no
evidence that data had been stolen.
The
attack, which took place on 31 August, was made public by Anglicare Sydney on 2
September.
None
of the ransomware sites that regularly carry out attacks of this nature have as
yet listed Anglicare Sydney on their websites.
-----
https://itwire.com/security/tasmanian-uni-leaks-info-of-20,000-students-due-to-sharepoint-stuff-up.html
Tuesday, 22 September 2020 05:16
Tasmanian uni leaks info of 20,000 students due to SharePoint stuff-up
By Sam Varghese
The
personal information of nearly 20,000 students at the University of Tasmania
has been exposed due to misconfiguration of a Microsoft SharePoint site, the
university says.
In
a statement on Monday, vice-chancellor Professor Rufus Black said the
organisation became aware on 11 August that files on one of its SharePoint
sites on Office365 could be accessed by anyone with a utas.edu.au email
address.
"Files
stored on this site were made visible to individuals when they logged in to the
University's Office365 system," he said.
"Some
files were made visible as a result of the 'Delve' application within the
Office365 platform. Delve displays content to users based on access privileges,
and automatically displays certain files to users."
-----
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/misconfigured-utas-sharepoint-site-exposed-20000-students-details-553644
Misconfigured UTAS SharePoint site exposed 20,000 students' details
By Ry Crozier on Sep 21, 2020
2:01PM
Security
settings allowed broad access to files.
A
misconfigured SharePoint site led to the exposure of files containing the
personal information of almost 20,000 University of Tasmania students to anyone
with a university email address.
The
University of Tasmania said in a statement that the incident came to light on
August 11 but that it had only today contacted students.
It
said the misconfiguration was active - and the files broadly accessible to
anyone with a utas.gov.au email address - "from February 27 to August
11" of this year.
“The
data, which is used to inform the ways the University supports students in
their studies, contained personally identifiable information of 19,900
students,” it said.
-----
https://www.afr.com/companies/telecommunications/nbn-may-yet-prove-to-be-a-60b-lame-duck-20200925-p55z5d
NBN may yet prove to be a $60b lame duck
NBN Co's plan to spend $4.5 billion upgrading the network will
bring it closer to Kevin Rudd's original vision, but two big uncertainties
remain: 5G, and cost.
James Fernyhough Reporter
Sep 25, 2020 – 3.17pm
This
week NBN Co's critics enjoyed a bittersweet "I told you so" moment when the government-owned telco announced
it would spend $4.5 billion on upgrading the network to fibre.
The
critics claimed this was an admission that former prime minister Kevin Rudd had
been right all along: fibre to the premises was the only way to go.
But
two major uncertainties – cost, and the 5G threat – mean the NBN could yet turn
out to be the lame duck its critics have loved to claim it is.
In
its
latest corporate plan, released on Wednesday, NBN Co was adamant the announcement was
not a backflip, arguing the copper-heavy fibre-to-the-node part of the network
had already paid for itself and would continue to operate for many years.
-----
https://itwire.com/telecoms-and-nbn/fibre-flip-will-not-fix-all-the-problems-caused-by-switch-to-fttn.html
Friday, 25 September 2020 10:26
Fibre flip 'will not fix all the problems caused by switch to FttN'
By Sam Varghese
The
changes to the NBN rollout outlined by the Federal Government on Wednesday will
not solve all of the problems created by the switch to fibre-to-the-node as the
main technology for the rollout, an academic from Flinders University claims.
Dr
Paul Gardner-Stephens, a senior lecturer at the College of Science and
Engineering, said in a post sent to iTWire that one issue was that FttN required that the
nodes had power, whereas FttP only required power at the exchange and in the
NBN box fixed at premises by the installers.
The
government announced on Wednesday that fibre to the
premises would be available to about 75% of homes on the NBN, making a total of
eight million in all, by the end of 2023, with the NBN Co to spend about $3.5
billion to upgrade connections. In addition, the NBN Co said a day earlier that $700 million would be spent
on business fibre zones in metropolitan areas and the regions, and $300 million
to improve regional Internet services.
Dr Gardner-Stephens said: "The NBN box also has a back-up
battery in it, that enabled it to be used to make an emergency call, even if
the power was out at your house.
-----
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nbn-co-shows-first-indicative-maps-for-130-business-fibre-zones-553894
NBN Co shows first 'indicative' maps for 130 business fibre zones
By Ry Crozier on Sep
25, 2020 12:19PM
Places
high-level boundaries.
NBN
Co has now provided high-level boundary maps for the first 130 of a planned 240
business fibre zones across the country.
The
maps, which are individual PDFs, have been attached over the list
of place names on an earlier media statement announcing the zones.
NBN
Co describes the maps as “indicative” - it’s not possible to see the boundaries
with street-level accuracy, though residents or businesses familiar with their
geographic areas will be able to draw some sort of inferences on whether or not
they fall within one of the zones.
The
network builder unveiled an up to $700 million plan Tuesday to create 240
“business fibre zones” across Australia where every business in the area can
get a free fibre connection at “CBD zone wholesale pricing”.
-----
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nbn-fttn-network-will-have-paid-for-itself-by-2023-553862
NBN FTTN network 'will have paid for itself' by 2023
By Ry Crozier on Sep 25, 2020
6:55AM
Tracing
the link between upgrades and NBN Co's saleable value.
NBN
Co’s fibre-to-the-node footprint “will have paid for itself” by 2023, according
to the government and NBN Co, and will continue to be profitable even as some
FTTN users switch to full fibre.
The
claim was made both by Communications Minister Paul Fletcher and by NBN Co in
its new corporate plan, though it was Fletcher who was specific on the timing.
“The
first FTTN areas have been in operation for five years and the entire FTTN
network will soon have generated more revenue than it cost to build and run,”
NBN Co said in its corporate plan.
“That
is, the FTTN network will have paid for itself as well as being able to provide
very good speeds to millions of Australians over the last five years and well
into the future.”
-----
https://itwire.com/telecoms-and-nbn/govt-s-fibre-flip-welcomed,-but-experts-differ-on-what-it-will-achieve.html
Thursday, 24 September 2020
10:19
Govt's fibre flip welcomed, but experts differ on what it will achieve
By Sam Varghese
The
Coalition Government's decision to provide fibre connections to about 75% of
homes on the NBN, making a total of eight million in all by the end of 2023,
has been welcomed by tech experts, but there have been some reservations about
what the policy would actually achieve.
Mark
Gregory, an Associate Professor in the School of Engineering at RMIT
University, said the move was a positive step, but it appeared to entrench a digital divide
by requiring consumers to commit to an expensive high speed plan before the
upgrade occurred.
"For
many Australians the NBN is already too expensive, it is about 20% more
expensive than it should be due to the cost blowouts related to the Coalition
Government's decision to roll out obsolete copper-based technologies,"
Gregory told iTWire
when asked for his reaction..
"The government should commit to providing FttP to 93%
of Australian premises and not have hurdles that disadvantage low income
families. The low interest rates mean that it is sensible to upgrade
infrastructure now. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted that telecommunications
is an essential service for all Australians, irrespective of where they live
and work, and it is vital that the government understand this and take
appropriate action to provide fibre to the 93% of premises in the fixed NBN
footprint."
------
https://itwire.com/telecoms-and-nbn/coalition-s-mtm-was-a-colossal-mistake,-says-nbn-co-s-first-ceo-quigley.html
Thursday, 24 September 2020
10:42
Coalition's MTM was a colossal mistake, says NBN Co's first CEO Quigley
By Sam Varghese
The
man chosen by the Rudd Labor Government to head the NBN Co when it was formed
has not held back in criticising the Coalition for what he called "a
colossal mistake" when it decided to change the mix of technology for the
NBN from one that would be mostly fibre to one in which copper would dominate.
Mike
Quigley told iTWire,
in response to a query for his reaction to the announcement on Wednesday by
Communications Minister Paul Fletcher, that the move "confirmed that when
the Coalition Government placed a bet on using the old copper and Pay TV
technologies to build the NBN it made a very big mistake".
"They
lost that bet," he said. "No amount of rationalising or saying that
the world has changed with COVID-19 explains why you would spend a decade
saying that FttP is a gold-plated solution which Australians don't need and then,
before the multi-technology mix build is actually finished, now say FttP really
was the right answer."
He
was reacting to the government's announcement on Wednesday that fibre to the
premises would be available to about 75% of homes on the NBN, making a total of
eight million in all, by the end of 2023, with the NBN Co to spend about $3.5
billion to upgrade connections. In addition, the NBN Co said a day earlier that $700 million would be spent
on business fibre zones in metropolitan areas and the regions, and $300 million
to improve regional Internet services.
-----
https://www.afr.com/chanticleer/nbn-co-s-worth-up-to-100b-20200921-p55xp8
NBN Co's worth up to $100b
The firm suddenly looks the best asset a federal government could
have when budget deficits are blowing out. Its latest corporate plan points to
the business possibly repaying more than the money invested in it.
Sep 24, 2020 – 12.00am
In
the space of 24 hours, Communications Minister Paul Fletcher and NBN Co chief
executive Stephen Rue have blown up three of the most commonly held beliefs
about the government-owned wholesale broadband network.
First,
there was a pervasive view that NBN Co would never make an adequate return on
invested capital. It would be a white elephant that would remain in government
ownership for decades.
Second,
there was a widespread perception that, at some stage over the next five years,
the federal government would have to write down the value of NBN Co by billions
of dollars.
-----
https://www.afr.com/technology/who-wants-to-spend-150-a-month-on-high-speed-nbn-20200923-p55yd9
Who wants to spend $150 a month on high-speed NBN?
The numbers all point to one thing: getting Australians to spend
$150 a month on a broadband internet connection is going to be a tough sell.
John Davidson Columnist
Sep 23, 2020 – 7.31pm
Few
Australians are going to be prepared to pay to upgrade their broadband to the
gigabit speeds offered by the upgrade to the National Broadband Network, an
analysis of spending patterns suggests.
And
of those who are willing to pay, most will be "wasting money", at
least at first, NBN experts warn.
Fibre-optic
cables might be the future of the NBN, but getting customers to pay for them won't
be easy. Glenn
Hunt
The
$3.5 billion upgrade promises to make gigabit (1000 megabits per second)
download speeds available to 75 per cent of premises with fixed-line NBN
connections, at a minimum cost said to be $149 per month.
-----
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nbn-co-to-provide-instant-online-quotes-for-technology-choice-upgrades-553768
NBN Co to provide "instant online quotes" for Technology Choice
upgrades
By Ry Crozier on Sep 23, 2020
2:06PM
Unveils
revamp of user-pays scheme.
NBN
Co is set to make major changes to its user-pays upgrade scheme, removing application
fees and providing “instant online quotes”.
The
network builder’s new corporate plan reveals that the Technology Choice program
is set to be revamped, now that the government will pay for many fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) to full fibre upgrades
- one of the key upgrades requested through the scheme.
NBN
Co currently charges a $330 per premises fee
just to apply to have your access technology switched.
From
there, the company then produces a quote, which only about six percent of applicants
find acceptable and pay.
-----
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nbn-co-only-expects-400000-fttn-users-to-have-active-fibre-services-by-2024-553772
NBN Co only expects 400,000 FTTN users to have active fibre services by
2024
By Ry Crozier on Sep 23, 2020
3:46PM
Two
million can 'order' a service, 80 percent won’t be active.
The
government’s $3 billion upgrade of half of the fibre-to-the-node (FTTN)
footprint to full fibre will be significantly less impactful than
announced, with only 400,000 premises expected to have active last-mile fibre
connections by FY24.
NBN
Co’s new corporate plan, released Wednesday afternoon, shows the number of
activated brownfields fibre premises is only expected to grow by 400,000
between now and FY24.
The
company said it expects to add about 200,000 brownfields premises a year from
FY23.
CEO
Stephen Rue confirmed the company’s forecasts.
“We
see the additional lead-ins being built into 200,000 premises approximately in
each of the years of 2023 and 2024,” he said.
-----
https://itwire.com/open-sauce/coalition-s-fibre-backflip-no-damascene-conversion.html
Author's Opinion
The
views in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the
views of iTWire.
Wednesday, 23 September 2020
10:39
Coalition's fibre backflip no Damascene conversion
By Sam Varghese
While
many people are rejoicing over the Coalition Government's backflip on its NBN
policy and its announcement that it will spend to get fibre
delivered to up to eight million subscribers in all, nobody should for a moment
think that this is some Damascene conversion.
No,
it is just that NBN Co fears it will soon become irrelevant in the overall
scheme of things as private companies come up with their own offerings to gain
customers, ignoring the NBN altogether.
It
was laughable to see this statement from Communications Minister Paul
Fletcher: ""From the outset, the plan set out in our 2013 Strategic
Review was to get the network rolled out as quickly as possible – and then deliver
upgrades when there was demand for them."
Really? So the Coalition had this cunning plan? This is a mob that
specialises in announcements, and announcements about announcements. It then
tries to drive home the mantra that it is focused on outcomes. Sure. And I am
focused on becoming the king of Jordan.
-----
https://itwire.com/telecoms-and-nbn/fibre-is-most-welcome,-but-affordability-is-important-too-budde.html
Wednesday, 23 September 2020
09:48
Fibre is most welcome, but affordability is important too: Budde
By Sam Varghese
Paul Budde: "After arguing that
there was no demand for it, that it was not needed, and that it was too
expensive, the government has now finally conceded that the future of
communications must be based on fibre optic networks." Supplied
Well-known
Australian telecommunications consultant Paul Budde says while it is great to
see the government doing a backflip on its fibre policy, the big question now
is how access to fibre optic services will be made affordable for residential
users.
"So
far the wholesale price charged by NBN CO to its retail service providers is
such that truly high-speed services are not affordable to the majority of
residential users. So this is still an area under contention," he told iTWire
on Wednesday.
Communications
Minister Paul Fletcher announced in a statement this morning that
fibre to the premises would be made available to about 75% of homes on the NBN,
making a total of eight million in all, by the end of 2023, with the NBN Co to
spend about $3.5 billion to upgrade connections.
-----
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/govt-ties-business-fibre-upgrades-to-nbn-cos-financial-achievements-553706
Govt ties business fibre upgrades to NBN Co's financial achievements
By Ry Crozier on Sep
22, 2020 3:32PM
Analysis:
What revenue level is needed to tick off similar residential upgrades?
NBN
Co’s ability to offer free fibre to more businesses is enabled by the company’s
financial achievements, the government says, raising questions about what kind
of financial performance is required before residential upgrades are offered.
Earlier
on Tuesday, the government and NBN Co unveiled a $700 million project under
which 1.4 million businesses qualify for free fibre,
should they order an NBN enterprise service.
Communications
Minister Paul Fletcher said in a tweet that NBN Co’s “investment in
business fibre zones is possible because after seven years of methodically
rolling out the NBN, we’ve proved up the business model and cash flows with
revenue of $3.8 billion in 2019-20”.
The
$3.8 billion figure is NBN Co’s total revenue, not just that from its business
segment which was $666 million. [pdf]
-----
https://itwire.com/telecoms-and-nbn/nbn-co-to-spend-$3-5b-to-provide-fibre-to-some-homes-by-2023.html
Wednesday, 23 September 2020
05:33
NBN Co to spend $3.5b to provide fibre to most homes by 2023
By Sam Varghese
Fibre
to the premises will be available to about 75% of homes on the NBN, making a
total of eight million in all, by the end of 2023, with the NBN Co to spend
about $3.5 billion to upgrade connections, according to an announcement made on
Wednesday.
This
is in addition to the $700 million to be spent on business fibre zones in
metropolitan areas and the regions, and $300 million to improve regional
Internet services announced on Tuesday.
In
a statement released early on Wednesday, Communications Minister Paul Fletcher
said fibre would be laid in streets to make this possible.
Residents
will be able to ask for their homes to be connected without paying anything,
but will have to fork out much higher prices for their Internet connections,
with this cost to be determined by their Internet service providers.
-----
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nbn-co-to-spend-3bn-upgrading-half-of-fttn-network-to-full-fibre-553731
NBN Co to spend $3bn upgrading half of FTTN network to full fibre
By Ry Crozier on Sep
23, 2020 6:25AM
Faster
connections to be available 'on demand'.
The
federal government will offer last-mile fibre upgrades to reportedly around
half of NBN Co’s fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) footprint under a $3 billion plan
announced today.
The
upgrade plan, which was heavily rumoured through yesterday, will also see a
further $400 million put into hybrid-fibre coaxial (HFC) upgrades and $100
million into fibre-to-the-curb (FTTC) upgrades, both aimed at supporting up to
gigabit speeds.
The
total of $3.5 billion for all of these upgrades will be funded from private
debt markets, according to the government.
The
offer to bring last-mile fibre connections only to part of the FTTN footprint
is based on need, according to the government.
-----
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/nbn-push-for-fibre-to-the-home-20200922-p55xxv
NBN push for fibre to the home
Phillip Coorey Political
editor
Sep 23, 2020 – 12.01am
The
NBN Co will spend $4.5 billion over the next two years to provide almost 10
million households
and businesses with the option of high-speed fibre connections,
in a change of political direction by the Coalition government.
Years
after building a controversial system which mostly used copper to connect homes
to fibre nodes in the street, the government will announce on Wednesday an
upgrade which will devote $3.5 billion to laying high-speed fibre cables down
streets past homes.
Householders
looking for vastly higher web speed will be able to have their homes connected
by fibre to the network free of charge. They will, however, pay higher prices
for their broadband plan, in line with the $149 a month paid by consumers
already connected directly by fibre.
These
prices will continue to be set by retailers.
-----
https://itwire.com/telecoms-and-nbn/nbn-co-announcement-labor-says-libs-now-recognise-that-fibre-is-better.html
Tuesday, 22 September 2020 10:52
NBN Co announcement: Labor says Libs now recognise that fibre is better
By Sam Varghese
Labor
shadow communications minister Michelle Rowland says the announcement made by
NBN Co on Tuesday, about spending up to $700 million on creating 240 Business
Fibre Zones, including a presence in 85 regional centres, shows that the
Liberal party does not have a clue about either technology or economics.
NBN
Co also said it had set aside $50 million over three years to work with local
councils and state and territory administrations to locate areas that needed
business-grade services outside the fibre zones.
"After
spending $51 billion on a second-rate network, and a decade criticising Labor,
it turns out fibre was better all along," Rowland said in a brief
statement.
"Today confirms the Liberals don't have a clue when it comes
to technology or economics. Their only motivation is the politics of the moment
and Australians have lost out."
-----
https://www.afr.com/companies/telecommunications/nbn-splashes-700m-in-bid-for-market-domination-20200922-p55xyt
NBN splashes $700m in bid for market domination
James Fernyhough Reporter
Sep 22, 2020 – 11.38am
NBN
Co will slash wholesale enterprise broadband prices and invest $700 million
over the next three years, as it ramps up its bid to challenge Telstra as
Australia's dominant wholesale business broadband provider.
The
announcement, a taster of the government-owned telco's latest corporate plan to
be released on Wednesday, will make NBN's CBD prices available to 700,000
suburban and regional businesses.
The
decision follows a move by Telstra earlier this year to slash the cost of its
own on-net enterprise plans. It further ramps up competition in the enterprise
market, which until recent years Telstra has dominated.
The
$700 million investment appeared to confirm expectations that NBN Co would use
some of the $6 billion it raised in private debt
earlier this year to build out its fibre network. More details on this move –
including a potential upgrade of the residential network – will be released in
Wednesday's corporate plan.
-----
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/nbn-co-pushes-business-fibre-initiative/news-story/0533a9f8f163862f6d5c6c488d96cb90
NBN Co pushes business fibre initiative
Chris Griffith
·
6:00AM September 22, 2020
More than 700,000 businesses will be eligible for free upgrades to
the government’s high-speed gigabit fibre broadband, to be rolled out in 240
business fibre zones across Australia. That includes 85 zones in regional
Australia.
The measure will be announced today at Port Macquarie and is part
of NBN Co’s business fibre initiative, a $700m package for small to medium
business to access superfast connection speeds.
The government’s plan involves defining areas to be serviced
around Australia as zones where fibre optic connections can be built into
business premises. Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said the government
would announce 130 zones on Tuesday with the remaining 110 announced in coming
weeks. Rockhampton, Bunbury, Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour, Mt Gambier and
Devonport are among locations.
He said the zones were designated areas where there was a density
of businesses within a “reasonable distance” of existing NBN infrastructure. He
said at Port Macquarie, a premises may be 1km to 5 km from existing fibre optic
cable. “It (the fibre) might have to run for 500 metres, it might have to run
for several kilometres,” Mr Fletcher told The Australian.
-----
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nbn-co-to-spend-700m-on-240-business-fibre-zones-across-australia-553670
NBN Co to spend $700m on 240 'business fibre zones' across Australia
By Ry Crozier on Sep 22, 2020
7:03AM
Unveils
three-year construction, rezoning package.
NBN
Co is set to spend as much as $700 million creating 240 “business fibre zones”
across Australia where every business in the area can get a fibre connection at
“CBD zone wholesale pricing”.
The
announcement, made a day before the release of the next NBN corporate plan,
means “nine in 10 businesses will be able to order high-speed fibre broadband”
from NBN Co, according to the government.
Having
businesses located within ‘fibre zones’ removes one of the last pieces of
complexity in NBN Co’s business offering.
As
it currently stands, NBN Co zones business premises as either A, B or C, and
this impacts their ability - as well as their cost - to have fibre deployed.
-----
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/china-to-lose-access-to-australian-space-tracking-station-553684
China to lose access to Australian space tracking station
By Jonathan Barrett on Sep 22, 2020
10:45AM
Cuts
into expanding navigational capabilities in the Pacific.
China
will lose access to a strategic space tracking station in Western Australia
when its contract expires, the facility's owners said, a decision that cuts
into Beijing's expanding space exploration and navigational capabilities in the
Pacific region.
The
Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) has had a contract allowing Beijing access to
the satellite antenna at the ground station since at least 2011.
It
is located next to an SSC satellite station primarily used by the United States
and its agencies, including NASA.
The
Swedish state-owned company told Reuters it would not enter into any new contracts at
the Australian site to support Chinese customers after its current contract
expires.
-----
Enjoy!
David.
