The bulk of the NBN is scheduled to finish in 2021. Copying the UK would take longer. Credit: Rodolfo Clix, file photo (www.sxc.hu)

Since BT's Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (what we call Fibre-to-the-Node) service is offered as an example for the Australian experience, it's worth taking a look at the project in a little more detail.

Timeline

The service was first trialled in 2009, and had its very limited commercial launch in January 2010. BT kept public interest going by promoting a demand register during that year to decide which exchanges would receive the service soonest (if Wikipedia is correct, they were Whitchurch, Caxton, Madingley, Innerleithen, Blewbury and Baschurch.

The rollout accelerated through 2011 and 2012, and there are now more than 1300 exchanges in which BT Infinity FttC services exist - although service to a particular address is dependent on proximity to a new cabinet.

Competition

Competition on the service only exists at the retail level. BT owns the cabinets, and is required under an Ofcom decision to provide the wholesale service to the rest of the market.

Coverage

In the four years since the trials began - which is a reasonable basis of comparison to the NBN, since its first customers were connected in 2010 - BT Infinity has reached less than two-thirds of the UK population.

According to BT promotional documents such as this one, in September 2012, the service covered "eleven million homes and businesses" (emphasis added). There were 26.4 million households in the UK in 2012 - so the most optimistic estimate of Infinity's reach at that point was 40 per cent coverage.

The same promotional document states that "two thirds of the UK" will be covered by the end of 2014.

According to this website, the full list of FttC exchanges currently comprises 1376 areas (this does not provide guidance on how many cabinets are installed, only the number of exchange areas in which cabinets exist). At a similar rollout rate, to enable FttC service in Australia to all 2800-plus exchanges now served by ADSL2+ would take eight years.

It's interesting to note, from the same BT document, that its ADSL2+ rollout is, in fact, lagging Australia's:

"At the same time we continue to roll-out ADSL2+ 'up to 20Mbps' broadband across the UK. During Spring 2013 90% of UK homes and businesses will have

access to this service."

The ADSL2+ exchange areas in Australia already cover a similar proportion of the population - although many of us live beyond the reach of full ADSL2+ speeds.