Ann: Service Stream awarded four-year O&M agreement with nbn, page-24

My point is not that the risk exists - any company can tender for work and any new entrant can create havoc look at the mining services sector - it seems to be eating itself with what we all expect each new or rollover contract shaving more and more off the price. My point is rather that there are two routes and from the information we are getting it appears that the NBN is not looking to build another level of management.

What I should have made clearer is that whilst in theory it can face competition from its sub contractors - They have probably already gone through that cycle - when the government changed and the standstill existed many small sub contractors took a huge hit and many ( as I understand it) started direct interaction with the "New NBN"

The reality as I saw it is that then the NBN had to face two alternative strategies - one build a management process to manage multiple and small players or let someone else do that. Its my reading of their position that having signed contracts with Telstra and Optus to manage the portions they bought from them and then to enter into contracts with SSM and another, that NBN had chosen not to build the systems and infrastructure to manage at that level. It seems unlikely that after the build you would put something in place that you would not have used when the build was in full stream as it would be more economical at the build stage. I am not discounting that smaller players may win tenders for things but I think one has to look at what has happened and been undertaken by the NBN co that suggests what route they are going.

I would also suggest that if the government was to go Labor then in fact they would also not logically move to small business as their power base would more logically play in the larger organisations.

At the end of the build the profit will drop but you have to identify who will get that and I feel its the same players that the NBN is dealing with now as these are far more likely to survive. Will it be at the same level - it all depends on how that cake is shared and what happens to the subcontractors.

A business acquaintance who subcontracted ( I dont know who too as he just said NBN) has reduced what he does for the main contractor as he already feels that the space is crowded and has been asking me about getting some work with Wifi installations and computer installations including using Cat6 cabling in houses and property developments for audio and video. He has said to me that he made a mistake by taking on mostly new build work and slowly lost all his old clients as he was never available.