NBN design for end users should start now, says Deloitte

Stuart Corner
Thursday, 17 September 2009 12:25

IT Industry - Strategy

"It will need to consider uptake in the consumer market and the drivers for this. Until now, not enough attention has been given to these likely end-user demands and key NBN stakeholders must incorporate these elements into the network design in order to achieve operational success. Now is the time to shift from the technical discussion to the applications and innovations that are really going to transform Australia and the way we live and operate."

Deloitte says it has identified seven primary challenges that threaten the success of the NBN and the future applications and services expected to be delivered using its infrastructure: end-user retail packaging and migration; competition and regulation; NBN company funding and structuring; design and construction; support for innovation and delivery of new applications; disruption due to the Federal Government election cycle; vertical and horizontal integration of private sector industries, and government departments and utilities.

Although these are not within the scope of the NBN implementation study, and although the Government has just announced plans for major regulatory change, these changes - and their preceding consultation process - are separate from its consultation around and plans for NBN-specific regulation, and it has a process underway to address some of these issues.

The issues addressed in this week's announcement were the subject of a discussion paper issued in April: National Broadband Network: Regulatory Reform for 21st Century Broadband. And NBN specific issues were not canvassed in that. Subsequently in early July the Government requested interested parties to "provide their views on the legislation covering the access regime for the National Broadband Network and governing the operations, ownership and control of the National Broadband Network company."

No detailed consultation paper was issued, and that consultation process is ongoing. However the minister's press release did list "Issues that interested parties may wish to address," as being:
- The optimal access regime for the National Broadband Network, including, for example the legislative obligations that should be required to ensure the National Broadband Network company operates on a wholesale-only, open access basis, the process for identifying services to be offered, how the prices and non-price terms and conditions of those services should be set, and for how long, and the role of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
- The appropriate equivalence obligation for the company and the services it offers, and how this would operate in practice.
- The nature of ownership restrictions applied to private sector investors to protect the Government's equivalence objective for the wholesale-only network.
- Arrangements for the Government to sell its stake in the network.
- Any other rights and obligations to be conferred on the company.

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