I agree that the FTTN copper wire segment sucks. The Abbott/Turnbull changes greatly increased the maintenance costs, decreased the speeds, and it turned out almost as expensive anyway. You're right that the copper shortened its lifespan too.
That said, I've got 63 Mbps down and 20 up right now on FTTN. I used to have about 7 down and .6 up on ADSL. During lockdown I could run my online business at home and my wife ran the admin of a decent-sized company with multiple online databases in the studio out back. All the while we listened to YouTube music and other family members were streaming Netflix/HBO/Hulu or something else.
That's why I'm so grateful for NBN in 2020. I kept my business and my wife stayed in her job because of it.
