With recent news of NBN rollout plans on the Sunshine Coast there has been a great deal of excitement. Many have sighed with relief, put aside all their frustrations with their current internet service and prepared to wait. But how long will they be waiting and what will they be getting when the planning and build phases are completed?
There are many methods and technologies that the NBN will choose from when planning internet provision for a community, including fibre-to-the-residence, fibre-to-the-node and fixed wireless. Fibre-to-the-residence offers an outstanding speed but is an expensive and time consuming project which will take many years to plan and implement – leaving many residents in a black spot in the meantime.
In late 2013 it was announced by NBN that they would start to use a fibre-to-the-node design to save time and money. This is a fibre connection from the node (street cabinet) to the national fibre pipeline. It is a hybrid solution as it uses the existing copper network from the street cabinet to the home. The line speed and reliability therefore will only be as good as the copper that already exists between the house and the street cabinet. As we know from many on the Sunshine Coast, this copper is susceptible to degradation and dropouts resulting in poor and inconsistent service. If this is the technology of choice by the NBN, many may be waiting for a service which isn’t capable of delivering super-fast and reliable internet.
Our Community Broadbands’ Fixed Wireless Network operates completely independently of the underground copper network and will provide an outstanding service to thousands of homes and business in 2015. By bypassing the final mile of the underground copper network and using the latest in wireless technology we are building an infrastructure which will deliver NBN equivalent speeds immediately and the technology can be easily expanded and upgraded to meet the markets future needs.
http://www.businesscom.com.au/businesscom-news-business-communication-updates-business-com-news/bid/390553/Is-Fixed-Wireless-Broadband-an-Alternative-to-Fibre-Broadband