Peter Elford, GCC Vice President gets  an update on the National Broadband Network’s plans for the Gungahlin pilot roll-out with Darren Rudd of NBN Co

Peter Elford: What’s been happening since the presentation by NBN Co to GCC in October 2010, because things have been very quiet?
Darren Rudd: The ACCC decision in December last year (to increase the number of Points of Interconnect for service providers from 14 to 120) resulted in lots of redesign work for the national network. Although this is all part of the NBN ‘backend’ and won’t have any impact on what residents see, it does mean we need to take some time to get things right. NBN Co remains committed to rolling out the second release sites (which includes Gungahlin). In the past months we have been working very closely with the ACT Broadband Taskforce in the background in preparation for the next phases of the project. I’m now looking forward to working closely with the GCC and the local community to raise the understanding of what it is we’ll be bringing to town, when that will take place and how we will build and connect the NBN in Gungahlin.

PE: So when will things starts happening?
DR: NBN Co is working closely with both GCC and the ACT Government regarding the Gungahlin rollout and preparing a series of stakeholder meetings. The next key date would be the awarding of contracts for the construction companies that will be undertaking the work. This is a national process that should hopeful begin in the next couple of months. We will make the specific rollout plans available after that, as part of an active community engagement and communication plan. There will probably be visible signs of work in Gungahlin streets before mid-year to audit the current network infrastructure and commence work on the street-level detailed design. In the interim, we’ll work with GCC to design a series of awareness and education workshops to be run over the coming months.

PE: How will the NBN be physically rolled out in Gungahlin ?
DR: Most of the NBN infrastructure follows the powerlines, either above ground on poles or underground,  using existing telecommunications conduit if it is available. In Gungahlin, which has underground power, the fibre for the NBN will be underground. When we have a definitive agreement with Telstra, we’ll be using as much of their existing infrastructure as possible.

PE: What happens after the first 3000 homes are connected?
DR: Once construction has started in Gungahlin, NBN Co intends to continue construction in subsequent stages of the build until all of Gungahlin has been connected to the NBN.

PE: How will the first 3000 homes be selected for connection?
DR: The first 3000 homes connected will be selected on the basis of what is the most efficient and cost effective engineering solution consistent with NBN Co’s construction principles and policies and minimisation of environmental impact.

PE: How does the Opt-In Process work?
DR: Prior to the NBN rollout starting in Gungahlin, all premises owners will be given the choice to sign up for an NBN connection. There are no costs involved in consenting to a standard installation of an NBN connection during the initial roll-out. You are simply giving NBN Co permission to lay a thin piece of fibre from the street to your premises. You are not committing to use the NBN or pay any money.

PE: So how does the fibre connect to devices in the home like a PC ?
DR: Once the fibre reaches a premise, such as a home, it terminates in a Network Terminating Unit. This is the standard connection interface to the NBN and does not require any major changes to a home’s inside wiring or equipment. You can then plug-in your existing computer, phone, set-top box, modem, router or other device.

PE: If you just want to connect a standard phone, will that cost any more?
DR: If all you want to use the NBN connection for is a phone line, you can use built-in phone adaptors and have a simple phone contract with a retailer.

The GCC will continue to work with NBN Co to keep the Gungahlin community informed on progress, but it’s clear that things are underway and the end of Gungahlin’s broadband woes are in sight.