There seems to be something missing in this story. How are wholesale installers of fibre optical cable equipment able to demand access to install their terminals in buildings in areas well ahead of the NBN rollout? The new interactive map on the NBN website makes clear for example, that the NBN cabling has not reached Chatswood (Sydney lower North Shore) and there is no timetable for it to do so. The only activity listed is for the new high-rise ERA tower block, where installation of the cable distribution within a brand new building equates to the cabling of greenfield housing developments. That is sensible. But the ERA cabling will not be connected to an NBN high speed broadband cable, as that backbone work has not yet reached the area!
My understanding is that the new government’s review of the NBN scheme is not yet complete; its policy statements have indicated that it favours fibre to the node, not to the premises. This, I would have thought, would be a relief to owners’ corporations, giving them time to consider whether and when to make the final connection to the building, and how far the internal cabling would go. Until the new policy, and its costings are published, nobody can know for certain where the NBN cable will stop.
Does this mean that wholesalers such as First Path are operating under the previous government’s regulations and its Act? How come they are working so far ahead of the NBN cabling backbone, and now, the policy of the new government? Are they “kicking down doors” as claimed, bullying owners corporations and building managers to do work which may not be wanted, and may not be legal when the new policies are announced? (Why are they attacking strata units and not private homes?) If these companies are taking advantage of the policy vacuum, every device should be used to frustrate their intentions – at least until the government announces its plans and amends the NBN Act.