Well, it’s finally here. Just a few weeks short of a year after his Government’s election, Malcolm Turnbull can point to evidence of the existence of his ‘multi technology mix’ NBN.
NBN Co has issued a gushing press release about one of the FTTN technology’s first users. He is ‘small business owner and part-time skydiver’ Martin McInnes from Umina, near Woy Woy on the NSW Central Coast.
The fact that McInnes enjoys hurtling earthwards protected only by a silken bedsheet is very handy. It has enabled NBN Co’s wordsmiths to say that, with FTTN, “the sky ‘s the limit.” Great moments in public relations.
“Mr McInnes has been able to reach download speeds of up to 96 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 30 Mbps, which he says has helped him to reduce the time it takes to perform daily work tasks and open up his business to international clients,” burbles the presser.
“NBN Co is currently trialling FTTN technology in order to roll out the NBN quicker, more efficiently and cheaper for all Australians.” Where have we heard that before? “The technology marries fibre optic cables with Telstra’s copper lines in a streetside node cabinet to deliver fast broadband to homes and businesses.”
NBN Co is currently building 1000 nodes in Queensland and NSW in conjunction with Telstra. “These initiatives are key components in progressing NBN Co’s move to a mix of broadband technologies which will help us scale-up the NBN rollout across the country,” said NBN Co CEO Bill Morrow.
“The early results and real customer experiences such as Mr McInnes’s demonstrate that existing technologies such as the copper network are capable of playing a vital role in delivering the NBN quicker, more efficiently and cheaper for all Australians.”
But let’s leave the final words to the parachuting Martin McInnes: ““Since connecting to my Telstra NBN service, the faster download times have helped me save 10 to 15 minutes off my daily work schedule. This roughly gives me an extra day off each month which I’m planning to use to pick up my passion for skydiving again – something that my previous workload prevented me from doing.”
See how good FTTN is? It even helps you jump out of planes.
