After three years the country faces an election and still doesn't actually know what the NBN will do. Credit: Rodolfo Clix, file photo (www.sxc.hu)

The NBN in August: Fear and loathing as election looms

Kevin Rudd's announcement of the September 7 federal election put the NBN community into caretaker mode, with policy debates and controversies galore during August and Labor pushing through some last-minute contracts, service launches and even a parody video to reinforce its message.

Voters had many resources to weigh up the various policies on offer, with summary videos - both serious and not so much - and a host of opinions from all sides. Commentators on radio (here

and here) and in print argued that the Coalition had to improve its broader position on innovation where, while many in the industry were lamenting the lack of technological expertise in both parties' platforms.

That didn't stop the fireworks when Labor's Anthony Albanese and the Coalition's Malcolm Turnbull locked horns throughout the month. Albanese declined Turnbull's offer of a National Press Club debate on the NBN and was accused of lying to Newcastle residents about the Coalition's policy, while Turnbull attacked what he called Labor's "shocking lies" about the cost of a fibre connection under the Coalition's NBN.

The two communications spokesmen did clash, however, in a Lateline debate welcomed as being blunter and more engaged, with Albanese muddling the promised speeds under the Labor NBN and accusing Turnbull of pulling his NBN cost projections out of a "Coco Pops packet". Some observers argued Albanese's message was getting caught up in technical tedium, while noted commentator Alan Kohler went mano a mano with Turnbull in what was billed as a "great debate" that Kohler later argued that he "lost handsomely."

Even as Labor used the NBN to make a play for rural voters, a Malcolm Turnbull staffer made headlines by launching an expletive-filled tirade at a blogger who had asked him for details of the Coalition's alternative NBN policy. Turnbull quickly apologised, but also said something that many found just as obscene in suggesting that he would have given NBN contracts to Telstra and he would ideally sell NBN Co to Telstra and let the telco finish the rollout.

Some commentators agreed Telstra needs to take a bigger role in the deployment, while Turnbull raised eyebrows in claiming that he would not give Telstra any more money but expected it would hand over its copper network to a Coalition government for free. Turnbull scored some points, however, when election fact-checking site Politifacts said his $94 billion price-tag for Labor's NBN was "half true" and analysts were only half sure of the ultimate cost of the Coalition's broadband plan - as was Turnbull.

One of numerous themes throughout the month was how the NBN would affect the News Corporation's Foxtel business, with speculation rife that the potential for the network to kill Foxtel was behind Rupert Murdoch's opposition to the project, as expressed through his media outlets. Ed Husic dismissed the idea that it would be problematic, while Telstra CEO David Thodey suggested the NBN would be helpful for Foxtel's cause and Malcolm Turnbull argued that the Coalition's NBN was actually a bigger threat as part of a "reality check" he offered. Tony Abbott denied ever having discussed the NBN with Rupert Murdoch, while others thought it was a long bow to draw. The media, however, wasted no time painting it as a Rudd v Murdoch "slugfest."

Some were asking whether we can trust either side to actually deliver on their promises, while none other than Kevin Rudd's Senate-candidate brother, Greg Rudd, was pushing either party to sell the NBN and let the private sector pick up the rollout from here. Aspirant political candidate Clive Palmer, however, was arguing that the NBN could never be privatised effectively.

Even as figures suggested the government would now be up for $4.8b in liabilities if the network was cancelled, NBN Co said the recent dramas around asbestos remediation would force it to modify its business plan - which won't be available before the election. Turnbull accused the government of 'sitting on' the updated plan, while NBN Co documents suggested South Australia would be hit hardest by the delays and estimates suggested NBN Co was looking at a target of 855,935 homes connected to the network by June 2014.

Some customers were reporting wait times of up to 10 weeks to get hooked up to the NBN, while contractors continued to attack NBN Co with allegations of non-commercial terms and subcontractor Syntheo announced it would bow out of the NBN rollout when its current contracts finish in 2014. Turnbull said NBN Co had used "classic bully boy tactics" on subcontractors, although there were other concerns that the company's decision to re-sign contractor Silcar would lead to a $5b cost blowout. CEO Mike Quigley refuted the claim and said the company was juggling its costs all the time.

Concerns over asbestos in Telstra pits continued to bite throughout the month, with up to 200 Tasmanian rollout jobs expected to go. Telstra had delayed the re-commencement of its work in the pits, as contractors began trickling back into work sites after undergoing asbestos training.

Albanese was on the defensive after Syntheo's walkout, even as NBN Co also let another contract, under which Downer EDI will connect 300,000 more premises. The company also partnered with Enex TestLab to open a dedicated testing facility for copper-based applications and equipment, then launched 25/5Mb/s plans for its fixed-wireless service and switched on its services in Cairns as well as Townsville and Western Sydney. Labor NBN spruiker Kate Lundy promoted the networks' value to the restaurant and catering industry, while Telstra offered its first NBN-based voice product, the government began funding NBN training for Victorian SMEs, and Victoria's Moonee Valley City Council got funding to improve access to 3D planning models.

Not all the news was good, however: Northern Territory police warned that the NBN rollout will make it hard to control citizens' access to restricted pornographic material. Some were questioning alleged slow takeup of the NBN in Tasmania, where the network has been available for the longest. And Telstra, for its part, warned that charges for the NBN could quadruple by 2016.

Retail service provider iiNet, which hit the 20,000 NBN customer mark, had the opposite problem as it moved to stop selling its NBN interim satellite service after determining it didn't have enough capacity to deliver its popular 20GB plans. NBN Co also reworked its schedule of fixed-wireless and satellite rollouts, changing delivery timeframes for residents in certain areas. And the entrance of Singapore-based startup MyRepublic into the Australian market promised no-quota NBN downloads, as well as highlighting the new opportunities that the network's pricing and service structure will deliver.

Further reading

Can Australia afford the Coalition's NBN? (The Conversation)

Finally! An article on Telehealthcare (The Australian)

Coalition's NBN on-demand offer could see users hit for $4000 (The Australian)

Arrogant Kevin Rudd hides NBN truth (The Australian)

Both sides miss the point as NBN debate lacks future focus (AFR)

Broadband vision will become clear with hindsight (SMH IT Pro)

Debate between Anthony Albanese and Malcolm Turnbull (ABC video)

Fact check: will regional internet users pay more under the Coalition's NBN plan? (Delimiter)

Labor's National Broadband Network ad oversimplifies its benefits (ABC)

NBN Co's bad telco habits (Business Spectator)

NBN: Armidale's "Fibre Island" shows the problem with a hybrid NBN (Fat Duck Tech)

Selling Abbott's Internet to the world (video) (Labor party promotion)

Speed check: what NBN speed promises really mean (SMH IT Pro)

Turnbull vs Kohler in the great NBN debate (video) (Business Spectator)

What can NBN Co do in caretaker mode? (iTnews)

What does it mean to 'switch on' the network? (The Australian)

What if the NBN had stayed on track? (SMH IT Pro)