AS Telstra announces it will start shutting down its copper network 18 months after the National Broadband Network (NBN) hits its first release area, Tenterfield has been warned the fibre network is still a long way off.
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NBN Co Limited stakeholder and community relations representative Tony Gibbs told Tenterfield Shire Council at a presentation recently that while the shire was about to see things happening to assist those in the outer areas of the shire, the town of Tenterfield itself would not see a fibre optic roll-out for at least another three years.
Council has already been approached to use one of the Mt Mackenzie towers to assist in the delivery of fixed wireless technology to the areas outside the town of Tenterfield, and Mr Gibbs said it could soon expect development applications for two further towers – one in the town of Tenterfield and another in Wallangarra/Jennings.
“Fixed wireless is fundamentally designed to fit a maximum number of users,” Mr Gibbs said.
He said this meant even if all users were accessing the internet at the same time, the speed would not slow down.
“This is the latest technology carriers are rolling out around the world,” Mr Gibbs said. “It’s a great technology for us to be able to develop and over time, it will deliver great speeds.”
He said the electro-magnetic signals sent out by the towers had been assessed and the maximum signal strength was still “thousands of times below the safety standards”.
Interim satellite services are already available to many residents outside the Tenterfield township.
“The interim service is about five times faster than before, and in the long term, the service will be about 11 times faster with more capability,” Mr Gibbs said.
He said by the end of 2015, the fixed wireless project would be rolled out, but Tenterfield was not in the current three-year roll-out for fibre optic cabling, meaning people in more remote parts of the shire could have better internet speeds than those in town.
Brisbane is already being switched on to the NBN and Armidale is one of the first-release areas.
When the fibre cable is introduced, it will follow existing Telstra networks where possible, and will be connected to every house in Tenterfield. Connection to the NBN will be free.
Member for New England Tony Windsor welcomed Telstra’s announcement it would continue to maintain the copper network in areas covered by NBN’s fixed wireless service for at least 10 years before review.
“Most broadband users will find NBN’s fixed wireless service to be faster and more consistent than the service available over Telstra’s copper network,” Mr Windsor said.
“However, Telstra’s commitment to maintain its copper network in fixed wireless areas gives residents more choice – although that choice will become even more of a no-brainer as further upgrades are made to the fixed wireless service.
Mr Gibbs told council he believed the copper network, which was installed before World War II, had done a “brilliant job” but had been designed for voice only and needed to be replaced by fibre optics.
