Slash NBN cost, run fibre through sewers says provider
Apr 08, 2011
The National Broadband Network could be deployed much cheaper and quicker by using existing water and sewerage infrastructure rather then building new ducts to house fibre, according to a fibre infrastructure provider. The claim comes amid a continuing controversy over the cancelled NBN Co building tender, and accusations of price gouging by building companies.
A significant proportion of the NBN cost estimates is attributed to the cost of building the infrastructure to house the fibre. The Government, through NBN Co has budgeted for $12 billion but critics say the real cost could be as high as $20 billion pushing the total cost of the NBN to $44 billion.
i3, a global provider of fibre infrastructure technology, said the NBN could be built at a fraction of the current cost estimates of $36 billion if alternative infrastructure systems were deployed.
“Based on our analysis, and the technology that i3 provides, we believe the cost of the NBN could be drastically reduced, and the disruption effect of laying new fibre trenches could be eliminated altogether,” said i3 Global CEO Elfed Thomas. “Our patented technology, which runs the fibre through sewer or water networks, could enable fibre optic broadband to the home 70 percent cheaper and 60 percent faster than the NBN.”
The global fibre technology provider said it plans to accelerate its business expansion plans in Australia, following the temporary halt to construction of the NBN. Despite concerns about the NBN, the company said regional Australia is crying out for fast broadband.
i3 believes its financial model, based on substantially lower cost, is attractive to private investors, and network construction partners. The i3 technology eliminates the expensive portion of the NBN project - hiring construction companies to lay cable and build trenches.
Mr Thomas said the recent decision by NBN Co. to delay the government-backed project presented a tremendous opportunity for alternative technologies, such as i3’s systems, because they can be built at a fraction of the cost of the government scheme.
“We believe i3 is now in a strong position to help the Federal government, and local and state public sector bodies to meet the needs of their business and community stakeholders, by licensing our fibre cabling systems to them,” said Thomas. “We make affordable fibre optic networks a reality.”
Thomas said another key advantage of the i3 fibre optic technology was that there is limited disruption to traffic when their system is deployed.
“By dropping the fibre cable through existing sewer or water systems, there is no disruption to traffic flows in metro areas,” said Thomas. “In addition, we have noticed that some residents don’t want their gardens dug up. You don’t have to face these headaches if you deploy the i3 technology.”
Technology
i3 Group is the world’s leading technology company in fibre cable deployment methodology. i3 Group’s innovative technologies and methodologies allow the cost of building fibre networks to be reduced by up to 70%. Equally important is the reduction in road digging, a high traffic disruptive approach, which our unique system drastically reduces by over 60%. Find out more