Austrialian fiber build out

[rthompson80819]

From Fierce Telcom. 

NBN Co., the company set up by the Australian government to build and operate the country's high-speed National Broadband Network, has chosen Nokia Siemens Networks to light up its optical transport network.

Under the terms of the $391 million agreement, NSN will deploy its DWDM technology and management systems in addition to providing associated professional services including design, logistics, installation, commissioning, local pre-deployment system testing and care.

"Nokia Siemens Networks is a high-quality global and local supplier of equipment and services. Their proven track record in Australia, utilizing local expertise combined with global capability, is a sound starting point in the future of our partnership," said Kevin Brown, head of Corporate Services, NBN Co Ltd. in a release.

Although the project construction is set to take 10 years, the majority of the optical transmission network, which will deliver 10, 40 and 100 Gbps, will be built out during the first three years.

When the network is complete, NBN Co. claims it will be able to initially provide broadband speeds up to 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps to about 93 percent of Australian homes, schools and businesses.

Despite the political wrangling between the Australian government parties and Australia's incumbent service provider Telstra, NBN Co. has been making progress with getting its network equipment and construction partners in order. In June, NBN Co. struck a GPON equipment and engineering deal with Alcatel-Lucent for the last mile portion of the network.

[patio]

I find it hard to believe the "last mile" improvements are included in that project...

[rthompson80819]

I agree.  $391,000,000 is a lot of money to me, but to build a fiber network for an entire country, that's not very much.  I think the "partnerships" they briefly mention is where the last mile will come from, at a lot more cost.