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approach – we need to be service driven.”
Bin Obood identifies four areas of potential
growth in services: digital home
technologies, smart home technologies,
IPTV and technical support.
Indonesian provider Biznet has expanded
its FTTH services to the island
of Bali. It launched services in January in
a region at the southern end of the island
that is popular with tourists – including
business travelers, who need reliable Internet
services. Both business and residential
services are provided.
Ninety Percent of Australia
Will Be Fiber-Wired
In a surprise move, the government of
Australia canceled the RFP for a national
broadband network – and announced
that it would build and operate
an open access network itself, in partnership
with the private sector. The government
announced the establishment
of a company to build and operate the
network, which it calls “the single largest
nation building infrastructure project
in Australian history.”
Under the plan, every house, school
and business in Australia will get access
to affordable fast broadband. A FTTP
network will deliver broadband services
with speeds up to 100 Mbps to 90 percent
of all Australian homes, schools
and workplaces – virtually everyone in
a town with a population of 1,000 or
more. All other premises will be connected
with next-generation wireless
and satellite technologies at broadband
speeds of 12 Mbps.
The government will be the majority
shareholder of the new company,
but significant private investment is expected.
The total investment – government
and private – will amount to $30
billion (US) over an eight-year period.
Within five years after the network is
built out and operational, the Government
plans to sell down its interest in
the company.
Next steps are to begin an implementation
plan for the full-scale project,
beef up the nation’s fiber backbone, and
at the same time start rolling out FTTP
and next-generation wireless in Tasmania
(the island of Tasmania is a state in
Australia, and the state government had
bid on the RFP as a regional network
builder) as early as July of this year. Nationwide,
all greenfield developments
will be required to use FTTP technology
after July 2010.
This last requirement shouldn’t be difficult
to achieve, given that many greenfield
housing developments in Australia
are already being fiber-wired by a variety
of telecom providers. Incumbent provider
Telstra has about 3,100 homes in greenfield
developments on its FTTH Velocity
network, and it recently announced
plans to upgrade Velocity to peak speeds
of 100 Mbps – five times the current
peak speed – by the end of the year. According
to Group Managing Director
Holly Kramer, “This upgrade will ensure
residents can continue to access the communication
and entertainment facilities
they need now and into the future. Over
time the focus of the 100 Mbps upgrade
will shift from multiple users within the
household enjoying simultaneous access
to existing products to new, high-speed
services as they emerge.”
Another Australian provider, Opticomm,
is also building and operating
FTTH networks in greenfield developments,
serving both residential and
business customers. Opticomm is also
planning to provide access at speeds up
to 100 Mbps to residential customers,
using technology supplied by NEC Australia.
For business users, OptiComm
will use NEC’s FTTH optical terminal
equipment with 1 Gbps ports, which
supplies both Internet access and virtual
LAN service.
OptiComm has entered into agreements
with several ISPs, and is finalizing
agreements with several others, to
deliver retail high-speed broadband and
telephone services over its wholesale access
FTTH networks. Several free and
subscription video services are also available
on the networks. “FTTH is no longer
a nice-to-have, but a must for new
residential and mixed-use developments.
Indeed, we’re seeing it being mandated
by many of the large developers who
have identified it as a disadvantage not to
have high-speed broadband connectivity
in new homes,” says Phil Smith, General
Manager, OptiComm. BBP
About the Author
You can reach Masha at masha@broad
bandproperties.com.
April 2009 | www.broadbandproperties.com | BROADBAND PROPERTIES | 17