Martin Kovacs

FTTdp sees fibre potentially installed up to the driveway of an end-user premises, with it connected by a distribution point unit to existing copper lines.

“We have tested FTTdp over the last year and we’re confident we can now deploy the technology in areas where it makes better sense from a customer experience, deployment efficiency and cost perspective,” NBN Co chief network engineering officer Peter Ryan commented.

“This includes premises in the FTTN footprint that have too high a cost-per-premises (CPP) and premises served solely by the legacy Optus HFC footprint that are yet to be made ready for service.

“When we consider the advancements we’ve made in FTTdp, combined with the up-to-date learnings we have on the Optus HFC network, NBN has confirmed it will deploy FTTdp in those areas where the use of the Optus HFC network was planned, with the exception of the already launched network in Redcliffe, Queensland.”

NBN Co’s Corporate Plan 2017, released in August, revealed decreasing HFC distribution, forecasting a base case of 2.8 million (2.5-3.2 million) premises, down from 4 million in the previous year’s plan.

Fibre-to-the premises declined from the previous year’s forecast of 2.4 million to a base case of 2 million (2.0-2.5 million) premises, with FTTN (including fibre-to-the-basement and FTTdp) forecast for a base case of 6.1 million (5.1-6.5 million) premises, growing from 4.5 million premises in the previous year.

“In markets where Vocus and M2 overlap, they tend to focus on different customer segments, with M2 mainly focused on residential and small business customers and Vocus mainly focused on large enterprise and government customers,” the ACCC noted.

Noting that neither are significant suppliers of wholesale transmission services, the ACCC stated that the proposed acquisition “will not significantly increase vertical integration between wholesale and retail telecommunications services providers”.

“The ACCC concluded that this was primarily a merger between two complementary businesses,” ACCC chairman Rod Sims commented.

“Significantly, the merged firm will also face significant competition from Optus, Telstra and TPG. This merger consolidates the fourth player in the market.”

“For those using e-commerce, online sales have grown from 32 per cent to 43 per cent of their total sales over the past four years,” Sensis commercial director Rob Tolliday commented.

“And while a quarter are selling to overseas customers, only 2 per cent are making most of their sales to this group.

“Selling online has become increasingly important as fewer shops have a physical store front and those that do have to battle with major overseas retailers who have landed in the key shopping strips.”

Surveying 1,000 Australian SMBs and 800 Australian consumers, Sensis found that 71 per cent of Australians made purchases online this year, up 10 percentage points from last year, with the most popular items being airline tickets (53 per cent, up from 47 per cent), clothing, accessories or shoes (57 per cent, up from 51 per cent) and hotel reservations (53 per cent, up from 47 per cent).

Sensis found that the average consumer spent $3,300 for the year, down from $4,400.

“While sites such as Amazon offer consumers more choice, the falling Aussie dollar has seen overseas purchases remain steady, with less than a quarter of online purchases being made on overseas sites,” Tolliday noted.

While online transactions continue to grow, concern remains about hacking, with 69 per cent of businesses and 85 per cent of consumers worrying that someone might interfere with their online transactions.

In total, 61 per cent of SMBs now have a website (up from 56 per cent), with 43 per cent of these optimised for mobile devices (up from 35 per cent).

“Of those businesses that don’t have a mobile-friendly website, almost two thirds have no plans to upgrade,” Tolliday commented.

“This is a risky strategy, given Google’s search algorithm preferences mobile-friendly sites, and customers now expect a seamless digital experience on any device.”

Sensis notes the importance of optimising websites for mobile, with 78 per cent of Australians now owning a smartphone and 73 per cent using it to search the internet.

“Businesses not already online often feel overwhelmed and aren’t sure where to start,” Tolliday stated. “The best thing to do is to create a simple digital business strategy. This will help them choose the right products and services to target their customers, while only spending what they can afford.

NBN Co, which towards the end of last year held its first G.fast trial, notes that the first commercial G.fast services are due to launch next year.

NBN Co last month advised that it will be rolling out fibre-to-the-distribution point (FTTdp) technology, also known as fibre-to-the-curb, to up to potentially 700,000 premises across the country, which it states gives “an ideal platform for potentially deploying both future G.fast and XG.FAST services”.

XG.FAST, the deployment of which could still be some time away, has also been on NBN Co’s radar, with lab trials having been held in recent weeks.

Among world regions, the report notes that within five years about 11 per cent of broadband services in Western Europe may be delivered via G.fast.

“This report shows the potential that G.fast has for delivering ultra-fast broadband services in the global market,” Dennis Steiger, NBN Co chief technology officer, commented.

“It is very challenging to deliver fibre into every home. Having the option to use G.fast in a fibre-to-the-building or fibre-to-the-curb setting is a great option for any operator.

A net loss after tax of $1.24 billion, up from $902 million, is attributable to early stage investment in capital expenditure and operational cost, NBN Co stated. NBN Co recorded capital expenditure of $2.13 billion, up from $1.43 billion.

End-user activations were up 128 per cent to 736,000, while the number of premises that can order the NBN reached nearly 1.7 million in the period, seeing the addition of 450,000 homes and business.

“Today’s result solidifies 2015 as a year where we met or exceeded every target the board set for the company, and is a clear signal we will reach our fiscal year goals,” NBN Co CEO Bill Morrow stated.

“There is accelerated growth across all areas of the network, while important milestones are continually achieved with customers, industry partners and the NBN workforce.”

The period saw the commercial launch of NBN Co’s fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) product, with NBN Co stating that more than 120,000 premises are now ready-for-service, with more than 600,000 premises currently under construction and a further 1,289,000 in design and preparation.

NBN Co states that it is on track to meet the full-year ready-for-service footprint target of 500,000 FTTN premises.

“We are now seeing the early signs of the network being built at scale, with the construction of fibre-to-the-node rapidly extending the footprint to homes and businesses,” Morrow commented.  “We are also encouraged by the end-user demand in our initial launch areas.”

Gartner additionally estimates that IoT will support total services spending of US$235 billion in 2016, up 22 per cent from 2015, with services dominated by the professional category, while connectivity services and consumer services will grow at a faster pace.

“IoT services are the real driver of value in IoT, and increasing attention is being focused on new services by end-user organisations and vendors,” Jim Tully, Gartner vice president and distinguished analyst, commented.

“Aside from connected cars, consumer uses will continue to account for the greatest number of connected things, while enterprise will account for the largest spending.”

Next year, Gartner estimates that 4.02 billion connected things will be in use in the consumer sector, reaching 13.5 billion in 2020.

Gartner classifies two classes of connected things in the enterprise sector: generic or cross-industry devices used in multiple industries (such as connected light bulbs and building management systems), and vertical-specific devices found in particular industries (such as specialised equipment used in hospital operating theatres).

“While the ACCC was concerned that the acquisition of iiNet by TPG may lessen competition in the retail fixed broadband market, particularly in the short term, the ACCC concluded that this would not reach the threshold of a ‘substantial’ lessening of competition as required under section 50 of the Competition and Consumer Act,” ACCC chairman Rod Sims commented.

The ACCC had received a large amount of submissions on the acquisition, with many parties having expressed concern that TPG will not maintain iiNet’s competitive offers post-acquisition.

While TPG and iiNet are two of the five largest suppliers of fixed broadband in Australia, the ACCC found that the combined competitive constraint from the other major retail fixed broadband suppliers – Telstra, Optus and M2 – would likely be sufficient to limit the harm to competition.

“However, the ACCC has noted the growing consolidation in what will now become a relatively concentrated broadband market,” Sims stated.

“Any future merger between two of the remaining four large suppliers of fixed broadband is likely to raise serious competition concerns.”