NBN rollout – ultimately, it falls on the customers’ shoulders to get it right, or wrong.
Ahead of the ‘imminent’ NBN rollout in the Byron Shire, Byron Chamber of Commerce recently assembled a group of representatives from Byron Council and local businesses, for a direct consultation session with NBN Co state reps.
The idea being to ensure that local business requirements and concerns were heard, with a view to seeing our region get the right infrastructure solution which will set us up as a business community to thrive into the future.
In hearing from NBN Co representative Ian Scott around the seemingly myriad ins and outs of the technology, it seems that ultimately it falls to the consumer to wade through comparisons of any number of highly technical variables, as well as factoring in the quality of customer service and support, in order to successfully select a ‘quality’ broadband supplier.
See, it turns out that, apparently, there’s NBN and then there’s NBN – when it comes down to retail broadband ISP [Internet Service Provider ] plans.
Once an ISP buys their ‘bandwidth’ wholesale from the NBN network, it is out of NBN Co’s hands as to how much of that bandwidth the ISP chooses to allocate to each customer, as well as how many customers an ISP crams into their total bandwidth allocation.
Surprisingly, there seems to be little to no regulation then, around the ‘quality’ of service which an ISP choses to deliver – it’s entirely to their own discretion.
I’m told that the ACCC may be currently looking in to this, which is encouraging. In the interim though, the consumer is quite on their own in selecting a reputable ISP.
To ensure that your business receives the full benefits of the NBN network, it is recommended that business owners consult with their local network / IT support expert, or contact the Byron Chamber of Commerce for advice and guidance on selecting a reputable broadband supplier.
