under the senate powergrab reforms what happens to the national party in WA where they're independent of libs?

I think that is a slight exaggeration. The govt is there to fund projects that the private sector won't. That is how the railways were built.

In my opinion there was a valid reason for a govt funded NBN (in order to ensure remote access in addition to the general goal of high speed access).

The issue is that the govt either did not complete, or publish, a thorough cost/benefit analysis. Neither did the Libs for their version.

If you had an independent body doing the economic case for each project, and the govt just stumping up the money, you would have a lot more transparency as the politics is taken out of it.

You'd also have a lot more efficiency. The government projects are so inefficient it's not funny.

I've been saying on here for years that Seimens-Theiss are rorting the system. We tested the rock for their rock claims (they get paid more to drill the NBN cables through rock than soil) and the dodgy bastards were sending us rocks they found in a creek so they got paid more.

Would be costing the Government millions.

So another leak from within the Government this time in regards to the new submarines.

I don't ever recall a Government in the past ever having such an epidemic confidentiality problem or was it just not given the air time back then?

-PB

I think it is worse - From the point at which Gillard became PM, until the last election, and from the point Turnbull became PM until today, there have been ex-PMs leaking against the incumbent.

Since 2007 we have been living in unusual political times.

I felt more was made of it with Rudd and Gillard than now. Even the regular disgracing of Turnbull's ministers seems to not be gaining as much traction as it should.

Yeah - true. I think it may be "scandal-fatigue".

People were happy when Turnbull came in because they thought they could switch off from politics after the "Rudd-Gillard-Rudd-Abbott" farce.

They are gradually switching on again now it is an election year. Hence the closing of the gap in the polls.

NBN trials cheaper all-fibre option
Date
March 3, 2016 - 7:45AM
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Mark Kenny
Mark Kenny
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Explainer: what will the NBN do for me?
The NBN says it will deliver fast broadband to every home and business in Australia, but when will we get it, what's the 'technology mix', how fast will it be – and how much will it all cost?
Optus calls for broadband contract buts as NBN rolls out
The company building the national broadband network has quietly trialled a new, low-cost fibre-to-the-premises technology that could achieve the speed and reliability of an all-fibre system to the home, as originally intended by Labor, but at a reduced construction price.

But despite the promising results, NBN Co has so far declined to release them, as the government defends its preferred model, which relies principally on copper phone connections for the final link from the neighbourhood cabinet - or node - to the premises.

Despite the promising results of the fibre trial, NBN Co has so far declined to release them.
Despite the promising results of the fibre trial, NBN Co has so far declined to release them. Photo: Rob Homer
The revelation has been described by Labor as an "extraordinary leak", which shows the government is deliberately overstating the costs of the full-fibre option, when it knows it can be done cheaper.

A leaked internal NBN Co document - the second this week - reveals the company has successfully trialled a new "type-3" system or "MT-LFN" or multi-technology local fibre network, which uses cutting-edge, thinner optical fibres combined with flexible joints and other improvements.

The technology advance, which allows the system to bypass the ageing Telstra copper wire network from the node to the home, was tested in two Victorian sites: Ballarat (July 7, 2014 to December 1, 2015) and the south-east Melbourne suburban site of Karingal (July 14, 2014 to December 1 2015).

The results of that double trial are set out in the commericial-in-confidence document, "CTO Briefing: Multi Technology - Local Fibre Network (MT-LFN)".

Its apparent success suggests that, at the same time as some construction costs of the federal government's cut-price fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) model have increased, according to a separate internal NBN Co assessment revealed exclusively by Fairfax Media on Monday, the costs of the alternative fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) option preferred by the previous Labor government, may be coming down.

Although the company expects that FTTN will always be cheaper and faster to roll out as well.

A well placed source in the company said that a reduction in cost-per-connection, as a result of improved technology, had always been expected as the giant project proceeded.

However, the trial suggests the savings could be significant, with a fall in the construction cost per-premises of the new approach from the current price of just over $1200 to around half that at just above $600.0

According to a source, the major savings derive from the vastly reduced "civil" construction works needed to provide the service.

These include no longer using "fibre distribution hubs" the above-ground cabinets servicing 200 to 300 homes each that convert the optical fibre signal from the network for its final connection on the copper phone lines - and radically lowered construction costs at the precinct level.

Under the section of the document marked "Opportunity: High cost of fibre in the local network" the dot-point document lists the problem of the current optical fibre connection as a function of the civil cost and time of current local fibre network comprised of pit and duct upgrading, the need for fibre distribution hubs, as well as issues of siting, installation, and reinstatement.

The opposition's shadow communications minister, Jason Clare, said the trials "showed that Malcolm Turnbull has been lying for months about how much it costs to connect to Labor's superior fibre NBN"

"It proves the only reason that Malcolm Turnbull is not connecting millions more Australians to the real NBN is politics," he said.

But the government rejected that outright. Minister for Communications Mitch Fifield said: "It's outrageous for Labor to suggest the NBN has been misrepresenting the cost of fibre to the premises.

"Any claims this is a secret plan are nonsense. NBN actually announced that it has been trialling a possible solution using fibre to the pit in the footpath at its half-year results presentation earlier this month. The Government has given NBN a mandate to find the fastest and most cost-effective way to complete the network."

A spokesman for NBN Co said time was also an important factor. "The primary objective of the NBN is to finish the build and connect 8 million homes to fast broadband by 2020," he said.

"FTTN is proven to be able to be scaled far faster than any other technology, this was already the case globally where other markets have proven it can see entire suburbs turned on in a month.

"It's a matter of public record that FTTP is part of our technology mix and is the most expensive and the hardest to build, so naturally we would always look at ways to reduce cost and time.

"The fact remains FTTP costs $4419 per premises to build, as reported at our half-year results on 5 February, and is far slower to roll out than FTTN (which costs $2300 per premises to build)."



Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/nbn-trials-cheaper-allfibre-option-20160302-gn8cj3.html#ixzz41pkDUaLq
Follow us: @smh on Twitter | sydneymorningherald on Facebook
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/nbn-trials-cheaper-allfibre-option-20160302-gn8cj3.html

So basically just FTTP?

-PB

So when Malcolm changes back to FTTP, thereby admitting he lied, will the Lib voters claim that it was good government?

When they do will people like you finally stfu?

Edited by scotty21: 4/3/2016 02:21:10 PM

.

Edited by Murdoch Rags Ltd: 4/3/2016 02:23:31 PM

Right wing arguing. Arms that circle more than windmills.

I actually don't care to much for politics but I'll call people out for their dickitry when they spout the same pathetic crap over and over again.

The LNP's existential debate on ideological direction (Turnbull Vs Abbot) is an important one which I hope plays out a lot better than Labor's Pro-Unionist Vs Anti-Unionist debate.

Something needs to change in the political ecosystem in Australia. There needs to be a party that is uniquely Third-Way (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Way). The best chance of this happening is if the Tea-Party members of the LNP breakaway to form some marginal right-wing creationist nut-job party so the rest of the Libs can get on with what Malcolm Fraser envisioned all those years ago.

Edited by socceroo_06: 4/3/2016 02:43:55 PM

Left wing > centrism. More mental effort required

No, more white knighting and high horsing required.

Centrists > common sense > left wingers.

See I can spout nonsense too......

Has Murdoch Rags multi been found yet or is he actually just the online embodiment of the Marxist uni groups?

You're either trolling or out of touch with reality.

The science backs me

Fixed for reality

Nobody backs you.

Hopefully the Credlin-Abbott affair can get legs and break into a jog.
Nice to see the Wilfully Ignorant Party reaping what they sowed from all their mud flinging in opposition

Edited by Murdoch Rags Ltd: 5/3/2016 10:51:02 PM

Pls Tone, pls tell me you smashed that.

-PB

Not sure, but if the latter he/she's a good parrot no doubt. A marxist parrot falls into the Illusory Superiority Intelligence bracket (IQ 100-120), with this form of 'intelligence' petering out once the capacity for independent learning kicks in at IQ 120 or so. Given that Murdoch Rags has not once displayed a capacity for independent thought, we can safely conclude his/her IQ is not above 120.

Unfortunately, all major social systems were subverted by this Illusory Superiority brigade who make up the bulk of social sciences, who converted them from patriarchal, merit-based institutions to matriarchal, socialist institutions: as such, they're staffed by incompetent people hired to stroke the ego of some midwit need to feel Self-Righteous.

This is the modern social justice warrior; delusions of grandeur of their own midwit intelligence and lazy, incompetent liars.

Argumentum Ad Popolum

I will admit I parrot - parrot peer reviewed science.
Personally, I prefer this to parroting ideoblogs, typically the domain of right wingers

Sorry, I was being facetious. I was suggesting you don't have any friends.

This is hilarious =d>

Copying and pasting someone else's intelligence and analysis of a subject does not make you smart.

Someone with an IQ of 40 could regurgitate ideology.