blog The debate about the quality of Telstra’s existing copper network has been going on for some time. We’ve heard the telco describe the copper as being “at five minutes to midnight”, we’ve seen photos of the worst of the worst of the copper out there in the field, and yet we’re also being told by the Coalition that the copper could have a long-term future under its fibre to the node-based NBN policy. So what’s the real situation? Well, according to Telstra chief executive David Thodey (who should, after all, know), the copper could last for some time yet. ZDNet quotes Thodey (we recommend you click here for the full article):

“The copper has been going well for 100 years, I think it’ll keep going for another 100, but … you’ve got to keep things maintained,” he said. “[And] copper does not decompose.”

Now, we’re absolutely sure that Thodey’s comments will be met with howls of derision from many quarters. After all, there are plenty out there on broadband connections which suffer poor quality precisely because of poor copper lines. There are even those (such as your writer) who tend to suffer issues with their broadband connection when it rains. However, the executive appears to be saying pretty much what some of us have already been saying for some time — that in essence, Telstra’s copper network is still functioning and still carrying the bulk of Australian telecommunications data, and that its faults are within acceptable percentage levels. This is a tune that Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has also been singing for some time, and Thodey’s comments will only give further support to it.

Image credit: Telstra