VICTORIA: NBN Co is ramping up its assault against TPG Telecom’s moves to cherrypick its most lucrative customers, unveiling plans to connect about 6000 apartments with its fibre network by the middle of this year.
In a move devised to protect NBN’s business case and revenue from competitors, the company will connect 43 blocks, containing 5930 apartments, in NSW, Victoria and the ACT to its superfast fibre network by July.
It is understood about 2000 of the premises targeted for connection will be ready for service by March, with the remainder coming on later in the year.
NBN’s ability to quickly connect apartment buildings to its network will play a crucial role in ensuring the company protects revenue-rich areas from opportunistic competitors.
NBN has previously warned its business case would be undermined and it would be forced to pursue new funding models if companies were allowed to cherrypick high-value, low-cost to serve areas such as multi-dwelling units in capital cities.
TPG has been NBN’s main competitor in the battle to connect apartment buildings with fast fibre connections, but the telco was earlier this month forced to withdraw its fibre-to-the-basement product from sale following regulations put in place by the government to protect the NBN monopoly from competitive threats.
The telco’s withdrawal came after Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull late last year ratified changes to the telecommunication carrier licence to require companies offering high-speed broadband networks to provide wholesale access on a non-discriminatory structurally separated basis, ensuring consumers can choose from multiple retail service providers.
The rules requiring TPG to split its wholesale and retail divisions were introduced to ensure the telco would charge rivals the same price it charges its own retail division. But the deadline to comply with the new wholesale conditions was not being met by TPG, and the company has temporarily withdrawn the sale of its fibre broadband services to apartments.
It is not known how many apartments TPG has now connected with its fibre network, but the telco was targeting a total of 500,000 capital city premises.
NBN’s updated rollout schedule for multi-dwelling units follows years of problems with connecting apartment blocks to its fibre network.
Under the former Labor government’s NBN policy, fibre was to be connected directly to every apartment premise contained in the network’s footprint. That method of connection caused delays and complications as legal permissions were required to deploy new internal wiring.
The Coalition’s multi-technology mix has allowed NBN to bypass some of those problems as it now connects its fibre links directly into the basements of apartment buildings. From there internet signals use existing building wiring to connect users.
NBN has been trialling the new method of connection since last year.
