The Gleneagles Estate NBN Committee wrote to Malcolm Turnbull on 27 April 2014 with the question of whether a community co-funded FTTP was an option in the NBN rollout.

The response received on 12 May 2014 was:

“…As you may be aware, co-funding provides and opportunity for owners’ groups in residential or commercial buildings, other levels of government, utility providers, businesses and local communities to upgrade the NBN by contributing to its cost. In many cases, this policy would involve enabling fibre to be rolled out into areas where NBN Co is planning to provide less costly infrastructure.

As part of this scoping work, NBN Co has been asked to consider both the potential and practicality for individuals to obtain fibre on a user pays basis as well as other innovative approaches to construction of the NBN such as collaborative or community-based extensions to the network. The Minister has requested that by 30 June 2014, NBN Co provides the Government with an initial view on the scope of the co-funded network investment in the NBN…”

Since then, the committee has engaged:

  • Minster for Communications;
  • Gai Brodtmann, Member for Canberra;
  • Zed Seselja, Senator for Canberra;
  • The ACT Chief Minster; and
  • NBN;

In addition, the following private sector firms were approached:

  • Telstra;
  • IINET/TransACT;
  • TPG;
  • Optic Networks;
  • Zetxanet;
  • Anatel;
  • Redtrain;
  • LNBCo;
  • Pivot;
  • Optus;
  • Opticomm; and
  • OPENetworks.

Mark Gregory (senior lecturer at RMIT) also has worked with us, and mentioned the project in an article published in Business Spectator.

We have also collaborated with the Nathan Forest Community Association in the Gold Coast who submitted and Area Switch application when this became available under the Technology Choice Program.