Communications Alliance - Comments on drafts

3.1.4 second dot point: replace 'subscriber' with 'end user' Table 1 (page 9, 3.2) POI Scenarios 1 and 2, POI Physical Locations: replace 'exchange' with 'centre'

Table 2 (page 11, 3.3) Broadband Access Provider, second dot point, first line: replace 'exchange' with 'centre'.

From Phil Harper:

Having read the NBN options paper, I would encourage you to keep in mind one important end user communication tool that is now emerging as a primary communication mode for deaf people in Australia - IP-based videophone / videocommunication.

Already commonplace in Scandanavia, Canada and the USA and emerging in Germany and France, a wired or wireless IP-based videocommunication tool (h.323 / SIP) are what Deaf people who use Auslan as their preferred 'telephone' tool. They will be able to call others via a Video Relay Service (available in Sweden, France & USA) and on trial here and NZ.

A minimum of an ADSL2+ connection is required for deaf people to use the videocommunication tool effectively - anything slower will creater jigger and delay because 'sign language' is being moved in video data packets as opposed to voice data.

Can you please add this to the list of "End devices" as listed in 3.1.1 and 4.1.1.1 (key functional components).

From Evan Stanbury:

1) Multicast Support Multicast replication is mentioned in 3.1.4 on the Service Edge, which is quite appropriate. I suggest that L2 Ethernet Multicast replication also has significant benefits when implemented in the Access Network (ie section 3.1.2, covering thousands of ONTs) and Aggregation Network (ie section 3.1.3, covering hundreds of Access boxes). There may be some smaller advantage in supporting multicast replication in section 3.1.1 for the ONT (covering a few RGs) and RG (covering a few Set-Top Boxes). All layers of the network must support mechanisms for multicast join and leave, so that the customer is able to control the multicast process.

From Teresa Pun:

Suggestion for consideration: Section 3 BB Network reference Architecture

Convergence of smart meter and network Termination unit - rather than the traditional network termination unit and optical network termination unit, smart meter can serve as a termination unit. If the utilities metering information(multiple utilities) can be collected via one meter, through one network, the security and segregration of traffic will need to be built into the architecture.
Convergence with the mobile network - mobile network has so far been a separate network with the fixed network, would the architecture provide evolutionary path for these two network to converge?
User content and apps - looking into the future it is possible in the architecture that Apps/content will come also from the end user side. The network architecture design may need to take into account the potential volume of traffic from the user end.

From Peter Baehnisch:

“Special” consideration for the voice interface in the end user domain.

While the current NBN RA document mentions voice (especially in relation to the provision of a VOIP service) as part of the current draft, I believe there are two practical reasons why it needs special consideration over and above its generic inclusion with other Ethernet delivered services.

There appears a likelihood that the deployment of fibre in residential locations may be accompanied by a concurrent removal of the copper pair based services to all homes in a street, irrespective of whether or not a particular end user takes a subscription service for “broadband” services. There may therefore be a significant (20% to 40%) proportion of customers to the NBN who initially only access a voice service.
Classic practice for PONs providing analogue POTS services is for the interface to be mostly provided directly off the ONT, rather than off a retailer’s provided RG or device (such as an ATA).

These two considerations lead to the architecture where the analogue POTS interface is provided off the ONT by the NBN. This provides the simplest transparent POTS upgrade for a user transferring from a copper pair voice service to an NBN based voice service, with no need to install additional equipment inside the customer premises. The Wholesale POI becomes the analogue interface rather than an Ethernet or IP interface, and as such, isn’t currently mentioned in the draft, yet is probably significant enough that it needs to be covered.

Draft NBN Wholesale Service Definition Framework - Ethernet

The public comment period for the draft (.pdf, 568KB) closed 04 December 2009.

Communications Alliance received submissions from:

Organisations

Macquarie Telecom (.pdf, 68KB)

Motorola (.doc, 594KB)

NEC (.doc, 31KB)

Draft NBN Overview of Technical Standards

The public comment period for the draft (.pdf, 552KB) closed 12 March 2010.

Communications Alliance received submissions from:

Organisations

Nextgen Networks

PERSA

Standards Australia

VC International

Draft NBN Optical Access

The public comment period for the draft (.pdf, 552KB) closed 7 May 2010.

Communications Alliance received submissions from:

Organisations

Corning Cable Systems (.doc, 26KB)

Comms Alliance (.doc, 30KB)

Motorola (.pdf, 177KB)