update Cautious Internet service provider Netspace has committed to a
widespread rollout of next-generation ADSL2+ broadband infrastructure,
after six months of sitting on the sidelines.
The new technology allows speeds of up to 24Mbps, while the ADSL1
offering most commonly sold in Australia only allows up to 1.5Mbps.
Netspace has a limited rollout of ADSL2+ hardware in Melbourne, but in
January the ISP said the instability of the fledgling broadband industry
would prevent a wider implementation. In that time, others such as
Optus, iiNet, Primus and Internode have continued to build out their own
networks using the standard.
However, since that time contentious issues such as the cost of access
to Telstra's copper broadband network (needed to provide ADSL2+) and the
future of the incumbent's fibre to the node network have been largely
settled.
A spokesperson for the company told ZDNet Australia this afternoon via
telephone that the the ISP's ADSL2+ offering would be offered
progressively to customers throughout the fourth quarter this year, with
the ISP using a mix of wholesale partners and its own hardware.
"It's not going to be a Christmas present -- we're not talking about
something that pops out at the end of December," he said.
The key areas for Netspace to deploy its own hardware would be
metropolitan Melbourne, Tasmania and some areas of regional Victoria
(for example the Gippsland area).
Tasmanian residents may not get equal service as the mainland though,
with the spokesperson citing expensive Telstra data carriage costs
across the channel.
The spokesperson declined to name either the hardware vendor or
wholesale partners for the offering. He said final negotiations were
currently taking place for network equipment, with an announcement
planned shortly on that matter.
In an earlier statement, Netspace said a complete listing of the
telephone exchanges through which it would provide ADSL2+ would be
available through its Web site this afternoon, with pricing details to
come later. The site currently states 250 telephone exchanges will be
covered.
In that statement Netspace managing director Stuart Marburg said his
company was thinking long term.
"We have watched with interest other providers struggle with the
difficulties of implementing their ADSL2+ services; wrestling with
difficulties associated with the deployment of their infrastructure as
well as building the right plans that offer the balance between
sustainability and value to customers and service," he said in the
statement.
"Our strategy from the outset has been to allow a little time for this
new technology to mature in order to fully evaluate the market and
determine the most appropriate long-term model for the provision of
these services."
Voice and data
The Netspace spokesperson also gave an update on the ISP's plans to
offer a complete telephony solution, including a Voice over Internet
Protocol (VoIP) product.
"We've got our full service telephone offering coming up in the next
month or two," he said.
The company now has a long distance offering, and will shortly launch
its VoIP product, which is currently being trialled by customers.
"We labelled it as a trial, just as a safety measure. We've been testing
it extensively for a number of years ourselves," said the spokesperson.
Come to Brisbane, guys. I'll sign up tomorrow. Here in the "smart state" I get no broadband at all - not even the paltry ADSL-1 Telstra offers in other places. I wonder if the 1500 people a week moving to Queensland know how primitive it is here.