NBN boss dumps top speed of 100mbps for hundreds of thousands of fixed wireless customers

NBN Fixed Wireless tower in Streaky Bay, South Australia.

The company rolling out the National Broadband Network has axed the idea of providing maximum speed plans to more than 300,000 potential customers.

Key points:

NBN Co says it has 'killed' plans to provide 100mbps speeds on fixed wireless network
Bill Morrow says achieving 100mbps would cost "billions and billions of dollars"
In January, NBN Co said half of fixed wireless customers would be able to access top speeds

NBN Co on Thursday night announced it had dumped plans to provide 100 megabit per second (mbps) speeds on its fixed wireless network.

"We killed it," NBN boss Bill Morrow told a Senate Estimates committee.

Fixed wireless uses mobile phone technology to provide broadband to properties in regional areas.

Mr Morrow said consistently achieving 100mbps would cost "billions and billions of dollars" — a taxpayer spend he described as "outrageous".

"The economics … [start] to actually break apart to a point where it doesn't make any sense," he said.

"It would just never happen."

In January this year, the company told Parliament half of its 600,000-plus fixed wireless customers would be able to access top speeds.

'Hard to find applications that warrant need for 100mbps'

Mr Morrow defended the backdown, saying, "there's not mass-market demand for 100 [mbps] services".

"There is no economic model that would work … [especially when] it's hard to find applications that warrant the need for 100 mbps".

Mr Morrow said at peak times of the day — for example, of an evening when people stream video — 100mbps speeds could not be consistently maintained.

More than 230,000 households are currently NBN fixed wireless customers, the committee heard, with the rollout of nearly 2,000 towers costing $2 billion to date.

NBN Co said it was trialling 5G broadband technology, which could improve network capacity and speeds.

The fixed wireless network has struggled with congestion, with speeds in some areas less than what the average Turkish internet user enjoyed in 2012.

Labor demands explanation

Federal Labor has demanded an explanation from NBN Co about its "bombshell" scrapping of 100mbps services.

"They promised this with great fanfare," regional communications spokesman Stephen Jones said.

"For them to now walk away from that is a slap in the face for rural and regional consumers.

"I'll be calling on the NBN to rethink this."

NBN Co said its mandate was to offer most of the country speeds of at least 50mbps, while offering speeds of at least 25mbps to the rest of the nation.

External Link: Question on notice for NBN Co at Senate Estimates

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