finesse123, I agree that the weekly report does show an average...

finesse123,

I agree that the weekly report does show an average of 1,500 units per week in recent months. Whilst one could assume that the activation of 70K units in FY16 is possible, I prefer to be conservative and use the NBNCo's figure.

As a follow-on from my previous post, the fixed wireless network enhancement could one of the following options mentioned in they May 2014 Fixed Wireless Review:

NBN Co has four main upgrade options:
• Implement 4x4 MIMO: Multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) uses multiple transmitters and receivers to improve performance by reducing the impact of obstacles between the tower and the premise. The technology will increase spectral efficiency (hence capacity per sector) by, at most, 20 percent in regional and rural areas. However, it can improve performance where premises have partial obstructions on line-of-sight, and potentially service more premises by reducing failure rates for service qualification (currently ~7 percent). To upgrade to 4x4 MIMO, NBN Co will need to put additional equipment at the base station and replace the radio component of the WNTD. As the upgrade requires configuration of CPE, timing should be based on demand, and coincide with equipment end of life and upgrade cycles.

• Implement carrier aggregation: By combining discrete channels of compatible spectrum (adding 20MHz of spectrum to existing sectors), carrier aggregation allows NBN Co to double the capacity per sector and support higher speed products. According to vendor roadmaps, carrier aggregation in the 2.3GHz band will be commercially available in mid 2014, with WNTD chipsets expected to be available in mid-2015. However, upgrading to carrier aggregation is potentially costly, given it involves replacing existing WNTDs, and sizable upgrades of base station components. Future carrier aggregation upgrades should be driven by demand growth on a site-by-site basis and the introduction of higher speed products.

• Site sector splitting: Most NBN Co sites already have three sectors in place or planned. By adding more sectors to planned sites, the number of premises served per sector will decrease, which will in turn increase the capacity available per premises. Increasing the number of sectors per site is more cost effective in the short to medium term than carrier aggregation, as the upgrade is limited to the base station (potentially some tower strengthening), without replacing existing WNTDs.

• Using 3.4GHz in addition to 2.3GHz bands: NBN Co could use both spectrum bands in the areas where it holds the rights to use both bands. This also effectively doubles capacity availability, and could lead to higher capacity allocation per end-user. This option is unlikely to be available to NBN Co in urban fringe areas.



The first two options would benefit NTC.