The NBN Co is claiming strong industry support for its layer two network design and choice of Ethernet or Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) technology for delivering high speed broadband as part of the National Broadband Network (NBN).
In issuing its response to industry submissions on proposed wholesale fibre bitstream products given during a recent consultation process, the NBN Co said it also planned to provide Ethernet point-to-point services at the wholesale level.
“Most respondents were supportive in principle of the positioning of points of interconnect (PoI) where there is contestable backhaul, but wanted to see more detail to determine the competitive impact,” the NBN Co response document reads. “NBN Co will release a PoI paper in late March with more detail on proposed locations.”
It went on to say there was support for Local Ethernet Bitstream and Aggregated Ethernet Bitstream as access products and majority support for IP multicast capability over an RF overlay.
“NBN Co is pleased that the industry supports its proposal to price access and connectivity links separately to allow flexibility in the services they can offer to end users.”
Under 50 submissions were received including from: AAPT, Alcatel-Lucent Australia, Telstra, Vodafone Hutchinson Australia, iiNet, Huawei Technologies, Singtel Optus, Nextgen Networks, Motorola, Macquarie Telecom, Juniper Networks, Foxtel, Australia Post, Primus Telecom and Vocus Group among others.
Although NBN Co has not made a final decision on the placement of Optical Network Termination (ONT) devices at premises (inside or outside a building), it committed to undertaking device and configuration tests as part of the roll out and subsequently release this information. It will, however, offer ONT battery back-up capability as an option when requested by the retail service provider or end user.
“As NBN Co continues to develop its product offering, it will consult with the Government on policy issues taking into account input from the Implementation Study,” the NBN Co document reads. “As these discussions progress, NBN Co may modify the thinking outlined in this document to reflect this additional input”
NBN Co’s full response can be viewed in the company’s website