Enhancing NBN's Value Comparing NBN with Australia’s Top 10 Trading Partners and OECD
Main Article Content
Keywords
NBN, Broadband, International Comparison, Value, Australia
Abstract
The NBN, Australia’s National Broadband Network, is nearing its 2020 completion. The value of the NBN depends on what you compare it to. While Australia’s broadband has significantly improved over the last ten years, it is useful to compare Australia’s NBN with similar activity in the OECD and with Australia’s Top 10 Trading Partners to gain a richer understanding of NBN’s value. Australia’s broadband performance compares poorly with other OECD countries on download speed, especially over 100 Mbps download subscriptions and average download speed. However, imminent release in May 2020 of new NBN gigabit pricing could significantly improve Australia’s world ranking on this average download speed comparison. Recommendations for improving NBN’s value beyond speed are made, including encouraging affordable gigabit NBN services; ongoing NBN upgrades; encouraging NBN use; focussing NBN Corporate Reporting on customer satisfaction and ongoing international comparison.
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References
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[ACCC] Australia Competition and Consumer Commission. (n.d.). NBN Wholesale Market Indicators Report 31 December 2018. https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/NBN SIO RKR - Disclosure Tables - 31 December 2018.pdf. See also: https://www.accc.gov.au/regulated-infrastructure/communications/national-broadband-network-nbn/nbn-wholesale-market-indicators-report/previous-reports
[ACCC] Australia Competition and Consumer Commission. (2020). NBN Wholesale Market Indicators Report. Download Data Rate. https://www.accc.gov.au/regulated-infrastructure/communications/national-broadband-network-nbn/nbn-wholesale-market-indicators-report/december-quarter-2019-report
AlphaBeta. (2019). Speed Check: Calibrating Australia's Broadband Speeds. October 2019. https://www1.nbnco.com.au/content/dam/nbnco2/2019/documents/media-centre/AlphaBeta-speed-check-report.pdf
Aussie Broadband. (n.d.). Upgrade to Fast Fibre Connectivity with nbn Enterprise Ethernet. https://www.aussiebroadband.com.au/enterprise/nbn-enterprise-ethernet/
Bangkok Post. (2018). True Slashes 1 Gbps Internet Price by 70%. 20 June, 2018. https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1488578/true-slashes-1gbps-fibre-internet-price-by-70-
Broadband Compare. (2020). Fibre Broadband NZ. https://tinyurl.com/rmzlzg4
[China] General Office of the State Council. (2013). "Broadband China" Strategy and Implementation Plan. https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=-http://www.gov.cn/zwgk/2013-08/17/content_2468348.htm
China Mobile Ltd. (2019). Unaudited Key Performance Indicators for the First Quarter of 2019. https://www.chinamobileltd.com/en/file/view.php?id=210386
[CNNIC] China Internet Network Information Center. (2018). The 41st Survey Report. Statistical Report on Internet Development in China. (January 2018). https://cnnic.com.cn/IDR/ReportDownloads/201807/P020180711391069195909.pdf
[CNNIC] China Internet Network Information Center. (2019). The 44th Survey Report. Statistical Report on Internet Development in China. (August 2019). https://cnnic.com.cn/IDR/ReportDownloads/201911/P020191112539794960687.pdf
China.org.cn. (2019). Beijing to extend gigabit broadband service city-wide. http://www.china.org.cn/business/2019-06/20/content_74904424.htm
Crown Infrastructure Partners (2019). Quarterly Connectivity Update. Q3: to 20 September 2019. https://www.mbie.govt.nz/assets/quarterly-connectivity-update-1-july-to-30-september-2019.pdf
Euromonitor International. (2020). China Country & Lifestyle Statistics. https://www.euromonitor.com/china/country-factfile
[FCC] Federal Communications Commission (2019). 2019 Broadband Deployment Report. 29 May 2019. https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-19-44A1.pdf
Ferrers, R. (2013). A Consumer 'Value' Theory of Innovation: A Grounded Theory Approach. Richard Ferrers. Figshare. PhD thesis. http://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.680002
Ferrers, R. (2018). The Little Book of Value: How Innovation Creates Value for Consumers. Vol. 1. Figshare. Online at: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.7376879
Ferrers, R. & [OECD] Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2019). How Fast is Australia's Broadband (vs OECD) - 2018? Figshare. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.8116079
FibreOne Official. (2016). Hi! We are Fibre One. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8Mp515LtYk
Fletcher, P. (2019). Speech to the 2019 CommsDay Melbourne Congress. 2019, 9 October. https://www.paulfletcher.com.au/portfolio-speeches/speech-to-the-2019-commsday-melbourne-congress
Fletcher, P. (2020). Speech to the CommsDay Summit. 6 April. https://www.paulfletcher.com.au/portfolio-speeches/speech-to-the-commsday-summit
Gregory, M. (2019). How to Transition the National Broadband Network to Fibre To The Premises. Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, 7(1), 57-67. https://doi.org/10.18080/jtde.v7n1.182
[India] National Digital Communications Policy 2018. (n.d.). https://dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/EnglishPolicy-NDCP.pdf
Infographic Thailand. (2016). AIS Fibre Optic Sub. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HGgByzEfp4
[ITU/UNESCO] ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission. (n.d.). 2025 Targets: Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development. https://broadbandcommission.org/Documents¬/BD_BB_Commission_2025 Targets_430817_e.pdf
[ITU/UNESCO] ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission. (2018). The State of Broadband 2018: Broadband Catalysing Sustainable Development. http://handle.itu.int/11.1002/pub/810d0472-en
[ITU/UNESCO] ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission. (2019). The State of Broadband: Broadband as a Foundation for Sustainable Development. September 2019. http://handle.itu.int/11.1002/pub/813c98f4-en
Labour. (2019). British Broadband: Labour sets out Mission to Connect Communities across Britain by Delivering Free Full-fibre Broadband for All. November 14, 2019. https://labour.org.uk/press/british-broadband-labour-sets-out-mission-to-connect-communities-across-britain-by-delivering-free-full-fibre-broadband-for-all/
[MICT] Ministry of Information and Communication Technology. (2015). Thailand Broadband Policy and Progress. https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Regional-Presence/AsiaPacific/Documents/Events/2015/Sep-WABA/Presentations/TH-NBB-20150910.pdf
Morrow, B. (2017). Gigabit Broadband: The Facts. https://www.nbnco.com.au/blog/the-nbn-project/gigabit-broadband-the-facts
NBN Co. (2016). Statement of Expectations. https://www.nbnco.com.au/content-/dam/nbnco2/2018/documents/Policies/soe-shareholder-minister-letter.pdf
NBN Co. (2018). Business NBN Enterprise Ethernet. https://www.nbnco.com.au/content/dam/nbnco2/2018/documents/nbn-business-fact-sheets/nbn-business-fact-sheet-enterprise-ethernet.pdf
NBN Co. (2019a). Corporate Plan 2020-23. https://www.nbnco.com.au/corporate-information/about-nbn-co/corporate-plan/corporate-plan
NBN Co. (2019b). New Report Focusses on Broadband Equity over Unreliable Speed-Test Rankings. 17 October 2019. https://www.nbnco.com.au/corporate-information/media-centre/media-statements/research-redefines-broadband-world-leaders
NBN Co. (2019c). NBN Co Confirms New Wholesale Discounts and Annual Data Capacity Increases to Meet Customer Demand. 26 November 2019. https://www.nbnco.com.au/corporate-information/media-centre/media-statements/nbn¬-confirms-new-wholesale-discount
Netmanias. (2018). Korea Communication Market Data. Broadband subscribers in Korea - by access network, 2005-2017. https://www.netmanias.com/en/korea-ict-market-data/broadband/1372/
[OEC] The Observatory of Economic Complexity. (n.d.). Australia. https://oec.world/en/profile/country/aus/
[OECD] Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development. (2018). Broadband Portal | Speeds | 5.1 Fixed Broadband Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, per speed tiers (Dec 2018). http://www.oecd.org/internet/broadband/broadband-statistics/ Also at: Ferrers and OECD (2019) - https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.8116079
[OECD] Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development. (2019). History. http://www.oecd.org/about/history/#d.en.194377
Ookla. (2018). Speedtest Global Index. Global Speeds December 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20190213051326/https://www.speedtest.net/global-index
Ookla. (2019). Speedtest Global Index. https://www.speedtest.net/global-index
Parliament of Australia. (2020). Inquiry into the Business Case for the NBN and the Experience of Small Businesses. https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business-/Committees/Joint/National_Broadband_Network/smallbusinessandcase
TelSoc. (2019). NBN Future Forum - Encouraging Debate on NBN Ownership Models. 31 July 2019. https://telsoc.org/event/nbn-future-forum
TelSoc. (2020). NBN Futures Forum – Learning from International Experience. https://telsoc.org/event/nbn-futures-forum-learning-international-experience
True Corporation PLC. (2019). 3Q19 [Consolidated Results] MD&A. http://true.listedcompany.com/misc/Bulletin/20191114-true-bulletin-3q2019-en.pdf
TrueInternet. (2014). True Internet - Aspiring for the Futher [sic] Together. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9oSZv87EII
UFB NZ. (n.d.) Pricing Plans. https://ufb.org.nz/pricing-plans/
Wang, B. (2018). South Korea getting 10 Gigabit per second internet and targets 50% 10 Gbps coverage by 2022. nextBIGfuture, March 18. https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2018/03/south-korea-getting-10-gigabit-per-second-internet-and-targets-50-10-gbps-coverage-by-2022.html
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Published
May 15, 2020
Article Details
How to Cite
Ferrers, R. A. (2020). Enhancing NBN’s Value: Comparing NBN with Australia’s Top 10 Trading Partners and OECD. Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, 8(2), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.18080/jtde.v8n2.252
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Public Policy
Copyright Telecommunications Association Inc.
Author Biography
Richard Anthony Ferrers, Monash University
Richard works as a Research Data Analyst, at Australian Research Data Commons (formerly Australian National Data Service (ANDS), Nectar (cloud computing) and RDS (Cloud storage)), a national NCRIS facility promoting eResearch and digital platforms for research. ANDS, (a Monash, CSIRO, ANU joint venture) was a $100M NCRIS innovation project, encouraging Universities to manage, share, reuse and add value to data. Richard also separately pursues Innovation and Value research, as ANDS funding precludes research. Richard has a particular interest in broadband and telecommunications as a area of significant innovation and value creation.
