Fibre for the node may be already there

Stuart Corner
Monday, 10 March 2008 09:46

Business IT - Networking

Former Telstra executive Ross Kelso reckons that Telstra might already have fibre ready to serve nodes in a future FTTN network in most of metropolitan Australia. Kelso made the claims in his recent PhD thesis on open access to next generation broadband. His comments follow communications minister Stephen Conroy's recent controversial decision to write to Telstra and other major carriers 'requesting' (under threat of legislation should the not comply) that they provided detailed information on the location of network infrastructure. Conroy claimed it was needed to enable any organisation interested in bidding for the Governments' proposed $4.7b of funding for a next generation broadband access network.

Kelso bases his view on statements made by Telstra (or Telecom as it then was) back in 1992 when it launched a pilot FTTH project under the name LaserLink. According to Kelso, "Telecom Australia publicised a target of attaining a goal of 60 percent 'connectivity' of optical fibre in the customer access network by 1994/95. By 'connectivity' it was meant that only an average of 700 metres of cable would remain to be installed between the optical fibre cabling end point an customers' premises in residential areas."

Kelso adds: "there is every reason for this target to have been met, if no exceeded and the trend to have subsequently continued to reach 100 percent 'connectivity' by 2000, if not before." He points out that both the deployment of Telstra's HFC network - which was configured to use fibre to within groups of 50-750 homes - in the mid 1990s and the deployment, starting in 1992/93, of remote integrated multiplexors (RIMs) in the PSTN network would have called for significant amounts of fibre in the access network. "With the cost of laying fibre cabling substantially independent of the number of fibres within a sheath, it stands to reason that Telstra would always tend to install capacity surplus to its immediate needs."

Kelso also claims that Telstra, in 1992 was forecasting fibre to the curb becoming cost effective in the 1995-2000 timeframe and fibre to the customer premises around 2000 and beyond.