Here's the basics on the NBN, basically FTTP VS FTTN
Labor - 1000/400 Mbps FTTP (Fibre to the Premises)
Your house is connected to the internet via an optic fibre. The expected minimum lifetime of this fibre is 60 years. The NBN is completely passive, all that lies between your house and the exchange is strands of glass and optical prisms, no power or ongoing maintenance is required. Upgrading the speed of the NBN is simply a matter of replacing the equipment at each end of the fibre.
Liberal - 25/5 Mbps FTTN Fibre to the Node
Your house is connected to a NBN node via existing copper wire. Each of the planned 30,000 nodes is a self-contained mini telephone exchange. These nodes have complicated internals that require regular maintenance and a reliable power source. Your internet connection speed to the coalition's NBN is dependent on the distance of your house to the nearest node, the quality of your existing telephone line, and the quality of your home's internal copper wiring.
The NBN wasn't designed just for everyday Australians' internet usage.
The most important thing about the NBN isn't its speed to rip torrents — even though its fibre-optic services will easily provide 1Gbps or eventually 10Gbps connections for those who need them. The value of the NBN is that it will allow every business in the country to link with every other branch office, business partner, etc. at the same speed as they would use over their internal network. When even your remotest offices have 1Gbps access to the rest of the company, data remains instantly accessible by remote staff as if they were sitting in the same office. While it's easy for businesses to set up 1Gbps networks inside their four walls, they've constantly had to compensate for slow wide-area network (WAN) connections.
Australia's broadband speeds are some of the slowest in the developed world. Where FTTP is available, the cost is so high that only the largest businesses can afford it. If we continue to rely on copper, our network will be overwhelmed by 2016. The exponential growth in data predicted over the next few years suggests we need to act
now.The answer is not to go backwards. The answer is not to continue to rely on copper in any form. Fibre to the premises is basically future proof technology since it provides the high speeds and reliability required for advanced digital services and can support a wide range of high bandwidth applications at once. It can also be easily upgraded to meet increasing demands for bandwidth.
We've all heard the stories of people who cannot sign up for DSL service because there are no ports left. Or paying for 20 Mbps connections but only getting 2 Mbps due to old copper wires and/or distance from the exchange. Or losing connectivity every time it rains due to dodgy maintenance. FTTN won't solve those problems. FTTP will.
Why is the Coalition even proposing anything at all? Instead of giving us the opportunity to keep up with the rest of the world, they've decided to defer the expense until a later date. Their policy takes us back 10 years. That's how much of a backward step it is.
All that's needed to increase speed well beyond that is to upgrade equipment at each end of the fibre - relatively cheap as there's no civil works involved - the fibre stays in place. Compare that to the coalition's proposal - the copper will need to be ripped up and replaced with fibre, with costly upgrades and/or replacement also needing to occur at each node .Over time, the cost of Turnbull's plan will be far greater.
When it arrives, it's here to stay. It doesn't rust. The signal doesn't get dodgy with the rain. It is future proof. It is an investment in the future of Australia.
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