Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

  (i) on 4 June 2018, Mr Bill Morrow told the Joint Standing Committee on the National Broadband Network (NBN) that NBN Co was considering instituting a fair use policy to curb the usage of some customers on fixed wireless who were using terabytes of data and characterised these customers as being 'predominantly gamers',

  (ii) Mr Morrow also stated that 'when people are gaming it is a high bandwidth requirement that's a steady stream',

  (iii) Mr Morrow also stated that, as a layer 2 company, NBN Co does not have the data to know how users are consuming data,

  (iv) online video games require a very minimal amount of bandwidth at approximately 10MB per hour versus streaming a 720p video at approximately 500MB per hour, and

  (v) according to NBN Co's own webpage entitled 'How much data does gaming use? A handful of popular examples' published on 29 December 2016, 'some of the biggest online games use very little data while you're playing compared to streaming HD video or even high-fidelity audio';

(b) acknowledges that online video game players are not to blame for the poor performance of the NBN, during peak or other times, over any NBN technology; and

(c) calls on the government to deliver a fit-for-purpose national broadband network that meets the needs of all Australians, including those in rural, regional and remote areas.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ensuring affordable broadband is available to all Australian homes and businesses, including those in regional areas, is a priority for the coalition government. That's why the Australian government is committing close to $5 billion to regional and rural broadband in the form of fixed wireless and satellite technologies. This is arguably the biggest investment in rural and regional broadband anywhere in the world, and includes cross-subsidies from NBN users in our cities. As with any satellite and fixed wireless broadband technology, capacity is finite and needs to be carefully monitored and managed in order to deliver a network that can provide the best customer experience. Neither the government nor NBN determine or develop policy by way of a Senate motion.

Question agreed to.

Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

  (i) on 18 January 2018, Senator Steele-John wrote to the Minister for Communications (Senator Fifield) to clarify the NBN Co's policy on providing internet access to people living in outbuildings and granny flats,

  (ii) on 22 May 2018, the Minister confirmed via return letter that 'granny flats that share the same address as the primary residence cannot apply for a network service as it is NBN's policy that each network service must be linked to a unique address',

  (iii) NBN Co's policy on providing internet access to people living in outbuildings and granny flats is very inflexible to a variety of living configurations and that it is not reasonable to expect that someone who is renting a granny flat, or even extended family living at one address, should be required to share the same NBN service,

  (iv) this service limitation has not been an issue with previous technologies and this limitation is not acceptable as Australia transitions to the NBN,

  (v) Australians should not suffer loss of quality, flexibility, stability, or cost-effectiveness when transitioning to the NBN, particularly when this transition is ultimately not optional; and

(b) calls on the government to deliver a fit-for-purpose national broadband network that meets the needs of all Australians, including those living in outbuildings and granny flats.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The coalition government is ensuring every Australian home and business has access to fast broadband as soon as possible at affordable price and at the least cost to taxpayers. The NBN rollout will be completed in 2020, by which time more than 11 million homes and businesses will be able to participate fully in the digital economy. To connect to residential service, NBN requires a unique address or location identifier for each premises. Where pre-NBN services are already connected, they can be typically switched to the NBN. Residents have the option to connect their secondary properties and outbuildings to the NBN with extended cabling, wirelessly or under new NBN's new-developments arrangements.

Question agreed to.