President Michael Ziebell
Telephone: 0415 858 202
Email:[email protected]
www.jra.asn.au
Secretary Alan Gray
Telephone: (02) 6255 9598
Email: [email protected]
NBN Rollout to Jerrabomberra
Notes from community meeting 30 September 2015
Present were representatives from Telstra (Larissa Redford & Ryan Gibson) and Optus (Jacqui
Lea)
Also present were Dr Mike Kelly Labor candidate for Eden Monaro (and former member for
Eden Monaro) and Brian Brown Queanbeyan City Council councillor
Apologies were received from NBN (Michael Tyler & Darren Rudd)
NBN Co. provided response to a list of general questions on the NBN for Jerrabomberra refer
to Annex A.
The Telstra and Optus representatives explained to the best of their knowledge the rollout
configuration of the NBN in Jerrabomberra.
Jerrabomberra will be serviced by two Service Area Modules (SAM), which is a geographical
subset of premises, for Jerrabomberra one will contain 2600 and the other 2700 premises.
From the SAMs fibre will be rolled out to Nodes which will service approximately 300 premises.
The SAMs connect back to a Point of Interconnect (POI), which is one of 121 sites around
Australia with Queanbeyan being one of those sites. Retail Service Provider (ISPs, or phone
providers) connect their network to the NBN network to service end-users at the POI.
For Jerrabomberra the area to the north of Edwin Land Parkway – refer to the brown area on
the map in Figure 1. below, will be serviced by one of the SAMs and receive Fibre to the
Premise (FTTP). The area to the south of Edwin Land Parkway – green area on the map, will
be serviced by the other SAM and be service by Fibre to the Node (FTTN).
FTTP means that the premise will have fibre optic cable installed to a NBN utility box and have
access speeds up to 1,000Mbps download and 400Mbs upload. FTTN means that the existing
copper phone lines into the premises will be utilised with access speeds up to 100Mbps
download and 40Mbps upload.
The area to the north of Edwin Land Parkway is currently in the build stage and should be
ready for service by July 2016. At this point retail service providers will be able to connect
customers to the NBN.
The area to the south of Edwin Land Parkway will more than likely not enter the build stage
until July 2016 and it will take approximately 18 months from this point to be ready for service.
The reason for the difference in service (FTTP v FTTN) between north and south of Edwin
Land Parkway is a reflection of signed contracts at the last Federal election. A contract had
been signed for FTTP for the area to the north of Edwin Land Parkway while no contract had
been signed for the area to the south of Edwin Land Parkway.
The declaration of ready for service will be made once 30% of premises have had the NBN
utility box installed. Once a declaration of ready for service there will be an 18 month period
before Telstra switches off the existing phone lines.
Once declaration for service NBN will contact each resident. NBN Co will make at least six
attempts at contacting residents prior to removing existing phone lines. The existing phone
companies will also be involved providing information such as where alarms are used - medical
and back to base.
FTTN is being trialled on the Central Coast of New South Wales, this only began in September.
Early indications are that the speeds are equivalent to FTTP – 100Mbps download. However
this is for premises within a close distance to the node (within 400 metres) it is expected that
the further you are away from the node the lower the speeds, down to 20Mbps. Should the
network to a premise be unsatisfactory it would be reviewed and action taken to improve
performance, this would be undertaken on a case by case basis to determine what could be
done.
The Telstra and Optus representative were asked about Very High Speed Digital Subscriber
Line (VDSL) as an option for Jerrabomberra until the NBN was rolled out. However this service
is only provided by Transact and is not available in Jerrabomberra.
The rollout of the NBN in Gungahlin was problematic with poor planning and shoddy contractor
work. Much has been learnt from this and the rollouts occurring since have progressively
improved to the point where they are relatively smooth.
The splitting of Jerrabomberra between FTTP and FTTN was seen as absurd. Councillor
Brown was going to bring this up with the Queanbeyan City Council. While Dr Mike Kelly would
move to have FTTP in all of Jerrabomberra should he be elected, this may not be possible
should contractual arrangements be in place prior to the next election.
To achieve FTTP for the whole of Jerrabomberra would require a concerted effort from all
residents to petition the current Federal member for Eden Monaro Dr Peter Hendy and the
Minister for Communications Mitch Fifield. To this effect a call was made to all present to
contact the JRA to coordinate an approach for conducting this.
Figure 1. NBN rollout map for Jerrabomberra
The map above is available from the NBN Co web site: http://www.nbnco.com.au/
Annex A
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NBN Co questions and answers
Update on the status of the Queanbeyan rollout.
o As per the nbn website www.nbnco.com.au there are three areas or SAM’s (Serving Area
Modules) in the Queanbeyan Rollout that have reached the RFS (Ready For Service)
milestone and are live. This equates to a total of 9,325 premises that can order an nbn™
service. There are a further three SAM’s that are under construction representing a further
7,963 premises that are planned to reach the RFS milestone in the first half of next calendar
year. Obviously it is important to point out that factors outside of our control such as
weather and the like can have an impact on the actual RFS date.
Is there a plan/schedule for the Jerrabomberra rollout.
o An additional 2677 premises are at the Build Preparation stage in the Jerrabomberra area.
Installation of draw cables in the Telstra ducts around Jerrabomberra has occurred what
does this mean.
o As a part of the preparation for installing the nbn™, draw cables are installed in the pit and
pipe network as a means for hauling fibre during the Build Commenced stage. Referred to
as Rod and Roping this stage also identifies any parts of the network that may need to be
remediated to enable the fibre to be hauled. In effect this means that the area will begin
construction in the foreseeable future.
Where is the fibre to be laid - to the exchange only, to the RIMs, new network points?
o Fibre will be laid to Node locations within close proximity to the End-User’s premises.
Will the rollout be gradual or a big bang approach.
o The network is built in a logical, engineering based fashion and broadly branches out from
the exchange to which a SAM is connected to. As such, areas are progressively constructed
and then ‘Switched-On’ as certain key milestones are met. Construction work can occur in
multiple SAM’s at the same time, however in most circumstances, one of those SAM’s will
reach the RFS milestone prior to the other(s). So you could say that the rollout will be
gradual as opposed to the whole ‘area’ being connected at the same time.
What communications will occur prior to the rollout, how will each household be contacted,
what if residents are not present.
o Residents and businesses are notified that our Delivery Partners are constructing in their
area through a range of channels. Dependent on the works that are required to the
adjacent landowners premises, different notices are issued. Calling cards and flyers are a
part of the process to keep residents informed of the work that is underway in their area.
What disruptions are to be expected.
o The disruptions to the residents and businesses in Jerrabomberra are expected to be
minimal, however some minor civil works may be required to in order to rollout the
National Broadband Network. As above, residents and businesses that are impacted will be
informed of works that are occurring in their immediate vicinity.
What is the model for carriers, can we expect more carriers or the same as what we have
now for Broadband.
o The National Broadband Network aims to provide the platform for greater competition in
the provision of broadband and telephony services. Any Retail Service Provider (RSP) who
has signed a Wholesale Broadband Agreement with the nbn can sell services over the
nbn™. For a list of RSP’s who offer services in any given area the best process is to enter
the address in the ‘Check Address’ section on our website. The link to this section of the
website is provided here: http://www.nbnco.com.au/connect-home-or-business/checkyour-address.html
What is the expected pricing.
o nbn is not a retailer, that is, we are wholesale provider of broadband and telephony
services (design, build and run the network), as such, End-Users (Residents and Businesses)
do not sign-up with the nbn. Rather the process for ordering and nbn service is much the
same as how you would order a phone or internet service now. End-Users contact their
preferred phone and internet provider to order a service. As above, once you enter your
address into the Check Address field, a list of providers for the area will be generated.
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There are some useful comparison websites such as Whistleout, Lifehacker and Whirpool
that have sections dedicated to comparing the Retail Offerings for plans on the nbn.
What will happen to telephone services.
o Once an area has been declared Ready For Service, residents and businesses (typically
Small to Medium Enterprises that are not on ‘Enterprise Grade Services”) have 18 months
to switch to the National Broadband Network prior to the existing ADSL and Copper phone
lines being decommissioned. There are some important points to this question:
 Impacted Residents and Businesses will receive at least six Direct Mail pieces from
nbn with the last notice being sent as registered post which will require a
signature, informing them of the intention to disconnect the existing ADSL phone
and internet connections.
 The typical communications journey involves the resident and business receiving
on average 45 pieces of Direct Communication from nbn, their current RSP and
competing RSP’s. Some RSP’s will also call their customers up to ten times to
ensure that they are aware of the decision that needs to be made with regard to
the landline phone and internet connectivity.
 It’s important to note that if End-User’s do not wish to have an nbn service they are
not compelled to do so (for example, End-User’s that have mobile phone and
internet), however, again, it’s important to note that if you wish to maintain a
landline phone and internet connection, then there is an 18 month window to
switch to the nbn.
 For businesses, there are other considerations to keep in mind, such as monitored
Fire and Security alarms as well as EFTPOS terminals that may need to be switched
to the nbn.
 Residents with Medical Alarms will also need to talk to their device provider to
ensure they have the necessary procedures in place to maintain continuity of
service.
 nbn subscribes to translation services for residents and businesses from a nonEnglish speaking background
What are the implications of the change in Government leadership.
o nbn has, and is in the process of, briefing the new Minister for Communications – Senator
The Hon Mitch Fifield on the rollout of the National Broadband Network
o Any changes in direction from the government will be received through the formal
instrument of government – the Statement of Expectations
Can you confirm that we are getting FTTN not FTTP in Jerrabomberra when it comes in.
o Parts of Jerrabomberra will receive FTTP and other sections will, at this stage,
receive a FTTN delivery technology. Areas on the public website demonstrate the
boundary between the two areas, with the sections that are Brown and Purple to
receive the FTTP delivery technology.
The NBN Co people told me that half of North Terrace (Carolyn Jackson Drive) will get
FTTP as they are on the Queanbeyan exchange, can u confirm this and find out where the
boundary is.
o As above and from what I can see, North Terrace appears to be receiving the FTTP
delivery technology.
As there are residences in the southern end of Jerrabomberra (Bicentennial Drive and
Waterfall Drive) that have no internet, why don't we have access to VDSL2? All of
Canberra does, it's fast and affordable.
o As you suggested – this is really a question for the carriers in the area.