Cooran - Development Application

2. BACKGROUND

2.1      nbn and the National Broadband Network

nbn is responsible for the design, build and operation of Australia’s new fast,
wholesale, open access broadband network. Underpinned by a purpose to
connect Australia and bridge the digital divide, nbn’s key objective is to ensure
all Australians have access to fast broadband as soon as possible, at affordable
prices, and at least cost.

nbn plans to upgrade the existing telecommunications network in the most cost-
efficient way using best-fit technology and taking into consideration existing
infrastructure, in keeping with the Government’s Statement of Expectation 1
that:

        “…nbn should roll out a multi-technology mix network and build the network in a cost effective
        way using the technology best matched to each area of Australia. …completing the network and
        ensuring that all Australians have access to very fast broadband as soon as possible, at affordable
        prices, and at least cost to taxpayers.”2


The nbn™ Fixed Wireless network will use cellular technology to transmit signals
to and from a small antenna fixed on the outside of a home or business, which
is pointed directly towards the Fixed Wireless facility.

nbn™ Fixed Wireless network is designed to offer service providers with
wholesale access speeds of up to 25Mbps for downloads and 5Mbps for uploads.3

2.2 Network Architecture – Fixed Wireless Delivery

Due to Australia’s size and particular geographic challenges, the cost of
providing fixed line services to all Australian premises is prohibitive, and has
been considered prohibitive since the inception of the nbn™ in 2009.

Fixed Wireless has been a technology delivered by nbn since 2009. During this
time, more than 2,000 fixed wireless facilities have been proposed across
Australia to deliver high quality broadband to smaller and / or more sparsely
developed communities - because this technology represents a cost-efficient
and time-efficient manner to deliver high-quality services to smaller


1
  www.nbnco.com.au/content/dam/nbnco2/documents/soe-shareholder-minister-letter.pdf
2
  www.nbnco.com.au/content/dam/nbnco2/documents/soe-shareholder-minister-letter.pdf
3
  nbn is designing the nbn™ to provide these speeds to our wholesale customers, telephone and internet
service providers. End user experience including the speeds actually achieved over the nbn™ depends on
some factors outside nbn control like equipment quality, software, broadband plans and how the end user’s
service provider designs its network.

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