Netspace to offer "widest breadth and reach" ADSL2+

Stuart Corner
Wednesday, 20 September 2006 12:46

Your IT - Home IT

Broadband ISP, Netspace is to offer ADSL2+ services from 340 exchanges in all states and territories using a mixture of its own DSLAMs in Telstra exchanges and wholesale access to the networks of other DSLAM operators.

Netspace's managing director, Stuart Marburg said: "We now have both the commercial wholesale agreements and infrastructure deployment schedules in place that will allow us to offer the widest breadth and reach of ADSL2+ services than any other provider in Australia."

A full list of the exchanges from which Netspace will offer ADSL2+ is available on the company's website.  However it has so far given no details of is DSLAM supplier, its wholesale suppliers, of which there are two, or which exchanges will have its own DSLAMs. It said that DSLAMs would be installed in "exchanges of commercial strategic importance, including locations where currently no ADSL2+ infrastructure exists."

Regulatory affairs manager, Ben Dunscombe told iTWire that the company would have between 20 and 30 of its own DSLAMs by early in 2006. "We think from a broadband perspective there will be no difference whatsoever [between the wholesale and direct services]," he said.

The company says it expects to start offering ADSL2+ plans to both existing and new customers within the fourth quarter. "We are not talking about a Christmas present, it will be significantly before that," Dunscombe said.

In February Netspace announced that it had completed its beta trial rollout of ADSL 2+ capable DSLAMs in a number of Melbourne exchanges and that the results had exceeded its initial expectations, but that it was reluctant to commit to a larger scale rollout.

Managing director, Stuart Marburg at the time: "We have watched with interest the major capital investments in infrastructure roll-out made by other operators within the industry. However, whilst we applaud any moves that increases the level of real competition within our industry, as can be seen by the current controversy surrounding Telstra's proposed ULL pricing, the deployment of such infrastructure does not provide any true level of autonomy or real independence to its owners in supplying services to the end customers."

He said this week that: "We have watched with interest other providers struggle with the difficulties of implementing their ADSL2+ services; wrestling with difficulties associated with the deployment of their infrastructure as well as building the right plans that offer the balance between sustainability and value to customers and service."

Dunscombe said there were a couple of factors behind the company's decision to proceed. "FTTN has been kicked into touch and the ADSL2 market is beginning to mature. Some of the wholesale providers now have sensible commercial offerings on the table."

Asked how the company would differentiate its ADSL2+ offerings, Dunscombe said: "We have a track record of providing exceptional value and from time to time we have really stirred things up. We will apply the same premise to ADSL2."

The company has around 50,000 broadband customers and a significant number of dial up customers, It launched its own VoIP service about a month ago. "We are very happy with the way that is going" Dunscombe said, adding "it is still really in trial mode, but any of our customers who want it can have it."


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