Lismore City Council Digital Infrastructure Assessment Report - September 2012

Lismore City Council
Digital Infrastructure Assessment Report

Version: 1.0 Final 9 September 2012
Strategy, Planning & Development Implementation Programs Research, Analysis & Measurement Independent Broadband Testing Digital Mapping
Digital Economy Group Pty Ltd ABN 48 153 285 191
P.O. Box 1191 Nambour, Queensland 4560
Document History
Version V0.1 V0.2 V0.3 V1.0 Author Megan Whereat Michael Whereat Megan Whereat Michael Whereat Version Description Document Setup Draft Review Final Date 1 September 2012
2 September 2012 9 September 2012 9 September 2012
Distribution List
Person Mark Batten Megan Whereat Michael Whereat Title Business Facilitator, Lismore City Council DEG Office Administration Manager Director, Digital Economy Group
Disclaimer: Information in this document is based on available data at the time of writing this document. Digital Economy Group Pty Ltd or its officers accept no responsibility for any loss occasioned to any person acting or refraining from acting in reliance upon any material contained in this document. Copyright Digital Economy Group 2012. This document is copyright and must be used except as permitted below or under the Copyright Act 1968. You may reproduce and publish this document in whole or in part for you and your organisations own personal and internal compliance, educational or non-commercial purposes. You must not reproduce or publish this document for commercial gain without the prior written consent of the Digital Economy Group Pty. Ltd.
P.O. Box 1191 Nambour, Queensland 4560
Terms and Abbreviations

Term/Abbreviation ACMA ADSL DSL Definition ACMA Australian Communications Media Authority Asymmetric digital subscriber line the broadband data line from the exchange to the customer. Asymmetric refers to the faster download and the slower upload. Digital subscriber line - the base unit term for a number of DSL products commonly available today. ADSL is the consumer grade product, BDSL on the other hand is a business product offering higher service levels. Digital subscriber line access multiplexer the equipment located in an exchange to provide data services over copper lines Digital Infrastructure Assessment by the Digital Economy Group Independent Broadband Testing by the Digital Economy Group The government business enterprise established by the Australian Government to deliver the NBN National Broadband Network Megabit per second The most common measurement of internet data transfer 2G When a call is made on 2G, a line is held open for the users conversation throughout the duration of the call. 3G, or third generation networks, operate in a different way to 2G networks. With 3G networks, the data sent across them is divided up into little data packets which are reassembled in the correct order at the receiving end. This smart encoding means more data can be sent and it is sent more efficiently. In addition, 3G handsets can be in contact with more than one base station at a time and this provides improved performances in voice quality and data rates. Some people call 3G mobile broadband because the evolution is similar to the difference between dial up internet and the always available broadband internet services. http://www.emfexplained.info/?Page=25196 2012 01 11 Global System for Mobile Communication Mobile Broadband enabled through HSPA technology is like having your home cable broadband experience delivered to your mobile phone or notebook. HSPA is part of the GSM 3G network and is (predominately) a software upgrade of the network infrastructure. To use the high speed variant, you need a mobile device that is HSPA-enabled most new mobile phones and high-end notebooks have these as standard. For a full list of Mobile Broadband devices, click here. HSPA has a great legacy, coming from the GSM family, which delivers mobile communications to over a third of the worlds population. It is the latest technology to enable even faster data rates for mobile users available today. The evolution has seen familiar acronyms such as GPRS (the first packet technology giving around 128kb/s) to EDGE (an enhanced version offering around 240kb/s) and then the introduction of 3G networks increasing the data rate to 384kb/s. The various enhancements on the HSPA route are as follows: HSDPA High Speed Downlink Packet Access the ability to receive large files to your mobile device such as email attachments, PowerPoint presentations or web pages. HSDPA 3.6mbps network can download a typical music file of around 3Mbytes in 8.3 specs and a 5Mbps video clip in 13.9 secs. Speeds achieved by HSDPA top 14.4Mb/s but most network operators provide speeds up to 3.6Mbps, with the rollout of 7.2Mbps quickly growing. HSDPA networks have been around for about 2 years and are deployed and offering mobile broadband right across the world. HSUPA High Speed Uplink Packet Access this is a further enhancement to increase the speed by which you communicate from your mobile device for example, this enables you to upload videos to YouTube in seconds so that you can share the experience in real time. The upload speeds which were at 384kb/s with HSDPA are now increased to a maximum of 5.7Mb/s. HSPA+ this is also known as HSPA Evolved, is the next step and is more focused on delivering data services enabling speeds of up to 42Mb/s in the downlink and 11Mb/s in the uplink. HSPA Evolved will be available in late 2008 early 2009. GSM is now used in 219 countries and territories serving more than three billion people and providing travellers with access to mobile services wherever they go. GSM An open, digital cellular technology used for transmitting mobile voice and data services
DSLAMs DIA IBT NBN Co NBN Mbps 2G & 3G
GSM Mobile Telephony Mobile Broadband
Commercial In Confidence
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Term/Abbreviation
LTE
Definition GPRS A very widely deployed wireless data service, available now with most GSM networks EDGE GSM Evolution (EDGE) technology provides up to three times the data capacity of GPRS 3G/WCDMA The air interface for one of the International Telecommunications Union's family of thirdgeneration mobile communications systems HSPA The set of technologies that defines the migration path for 3G/WCDMA operators worldwide LTE Designed to be backwards-compatible with GSM and HSPA, Long Term Evolution incorporates MIMO in combination with OFDMA Services GSM is fast becoming the most popular way to deliver information, communication and entertainment services to people worldwide GSM Roaming The ability for a customer to make and receive calls, send and receive data, or access other services when travelling outside the coverage area of their home network IMB A technology, defined as a part of the 3GPP Rel. 8 standard, which enables spectrally-efficient delivery of Broadcast services using TDD radio techniques. LTE (Long Term Evolution) is the next major enhancement to mobile radio communications networks. LTE is a standard that is being finalised as part of the future evolution of 3G, which incorporates significantly increased data rates and better performance to enhance the mobile broadband experience.
Sources - Various including:

http://www.emfexplained.info/?ID=25216 Sourced 11 Jan 2012 http://www.gsmworld.com/technology/index.htm Sourced 11 February 2012 http://www.gsmamobilebroadband.com/about/ Sourced 2012 01 11
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Table of Contents
Terms and Abbreviations ......................................................................................................................... i 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Context ............................................................................................................................................ 1 1.2. DIA Report Overview ...................................................................................................................... 1 2. 3. Digital Infrastructure and Gross Regional Product ......................................................................... 2 Telstra Digital Infrastructure in Lismore ......................................................................................... 3 Lismore Baseline ..................................................................................................................... 3 Benchmark to Gold Coast ....................................................................................................... 6 Lismore Fixed Broadband Investment Priorities ..................................................................... 8 Lismore Baseline ................................................................................................................... 11 Benchmark to the Gold Coast ............................................................................................... 13 Lismore Mobile Broadband Investment Priorities ................................................................ 14
3.1. Fixed Broadband Infrastructure ...................................................................................................... 3 3.1.1. 3.1.2. 3.1.3. 3.2.1. 3.2.2. 3.2.3. 4.
3.2. Mobile Broadband Infrastructure ................................................................................................. 11
Priorities and Recommendations.................................................................................................. 15
Table of Maps
Map 1: Lismore Exchanges and Exchange Service Areas ........................................................................ 4 Map 2: Lismore Exchanges, ADSL service levels and 2.5klm radius ....................................................... 5 Map 3: Gold Coast City Council Exchanges and Exchange Service Areas ............................................... 7 Map 4: Gold Coast City Council ADSL to 2.5klms .................................................................................... 8 Map 5: Comparison of Telstra mobile broadband sites in both local government areas ................... 13
Tables
Table 1: Telstra IP DSLAM (Top Hat) builds for Lismore ......................................................................... 6 Table 2: Lismore Telstra Mobile Broadband Sites ................................................................................ 11 Table 3: Telstra ACMA licence categories for Lismore City Council Area ............................................. 12
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1. Introduction
The Digital Economy Group (DEG) has been engaged by Lismore City Council to undertake an assessment of digital infrastructure owned and controlled Telstra in the Lismore City Council area and identify where additional investment by the carrier will have the potential to generate additional Gross Regional Product (GRP) and minimise the local impact of Telstra closing their call centre. Telstra owns and controls considerable assets in Lismore. DEG has prepared a high level Digital Infrastructure Assessment (DIA) containing a baseline assessment of both the fixed broadband and mobile broadband infrastructure. Lismore has been benchmarked to the Gold Coast and specific technology solutions have been identified to deploy with the potential to generate additional GRP to offset the loss.
1.1.
Context
Telstra recently announced the closure of its call centre in Lismore after almost 20 years of operations causing the loss of 116 jobs directly and many more indirectly. Lismore City Council is responding to this significant loss by developing a local employment transformation plan. The transformation plan will utilise both traditional economy solutions and also include contemporary digital economy initiatives to minimise the impact on the local economy in terms of employment and GRP.
1.2.
DIA Report Overview
The DIA report has the following structure: 1. Introduction 2. Digital Infrastructure and RDP 3. Baseline assessment, benchmark and potential investment opportunities, 3.1. Fixed Broadband Infrastructure 3.1.1. Exchanges (ADSL status), exchange service areas, distribution areas, current and proposed top hat locations 3.1.2. Benchmark to the Gold Coast 3.1.3. Areas for additional Top Hat investment 3.2. Mobile Broadband Infrastructure 3.2.1. Current sites Coverage, Capacity and Competition, 3.2.2. Current mobile broadband licences by site (spectrum currently deployed) 3.2.3. Benchmark to the Gold Coast 3.2.4. Identification of potential new sites and/or upgrades of existing sites 4. Priorities and Recommendations Note: In this report the measure of Gross Domestic Product (national) is translated into the localised or regional term of Gross Regional Product (GRP).
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2. Digital Infrastructure and Gross Regional Product

The link between investment in new digital infrastructure and its value to the local economy has not been effectively demonstrated until just recently. Ericsson, in partnership with Chalmers University of Technology1, has proven that increased broadband speed contributes to economic growth. The measure can now be used to determine the likely benefit to the economy from direct, indirect and induced effects is simply doubling broadband speed increases GDP by 0.3%. The Ericsson report also identified that a further doubling of broadband speeds correlated to a further increase in economic benefit to 0.6% GDP. The next challenge is to establish a benchmark of the current speeds available in your economy. Most typical methods of survey result in poor response rates, which lead to questions about the validity of the measurement. The Akamai State of the Internet report2 helps to resolve this by using their widely distributed servers in all countries. The consistent measurement methodology allows insight across all countries and regions of the world. The Akamai report identifies the average connection speed for Australia at 4.9Mbps and is ranked 24th internationally. By combining the average download speed for Australia in the Akamai Report with the measure established by the Ericsson Report, we can now begin to determine how additional digital infrastructure can provide the basis for improvements in the Gross Regional Product (GRP). In this report DEG will seek to identify locations where the current digital infrastructure provided by Telstra can be augmented to increase connection speeds. For Lismore, the assessment will focus on fixed (ADSL2+) and mobile (3G & 4G) broadband infrastructure that can achieve a doubling (or greater) of broadband speeds. The proposed technology solutions are currently being deployed by Telstra in other parts of Australia. The key priority is to identify where new infrastructure and upgrades can occur to benefit areas that are currently underserved or have an unmet need.
Need for Speed: A study confirming the positive effects of an increased broadband speed on GDP by Arthur D. Little at Chalmers University of Technology in partnership with Ericsson, 2012.
2
The State of the Internet, 4 Quarter, 2011 Report, Akamai.
th
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3. Telstra Digital Infrastructure in Lismore

In this report digital infrastructure refers to all elements of broadband networks servicing a specific area. In this report the focus is on the Telstra digital infrastructure which has significant legacy infrastructure including fixed (transit, exchange fibre and copper assets) and mobile (towers and spectrum) The assessment will begin with a baseline assessment, benchmark to the nearby urban area of the Gold Coast and identify potential investment candidates.
3.1.
Fixed Broadband Infrastructure Lismore Baseline
3.1.1.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics identifies the estimated residential population of Lismore City Council at 44, 282 as at the 30th June 2011. The total land area of the local government is 1,290 klms2. The population density is therefore 34.32 people per klm2. The main population centres and localities as follows: Lismore, Goonellabah, Broadwater, Clovass, Coraki, Woodburn, South Gundurimba, Tregeagle, Bexhill, Modanville, Goollmangar, Bentley, Wongangle, Jiggi, Koonorigan, The Channon, Dunoon, Clunes and Cawongla. Lismore City Council is currently serviced by 24 Telstra exchanges, some overlapping with adjacent local government areas. Eight of the exchanges are located outside of the Lismore area and have substantial service areas within the Lismore area.
Figure 1: DSL speed verses distance
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org, August 2012.
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DSL (provided in a number of variants including ADSL, ADSL2 and VDL for business) has successfully provided broadband over the copper network. The key challenge for the copper network is the effective distance that ADSL can deliver broadband. The graph above shows the maximum line rate (in Mbps) compared to the line distance from the exchange. The intersecting lines overlaying the graph identify the point at which speed of service and distance from the exchange equals the base NBN Co service (12Mbps). At 2.5klms from the exchange also represents the maximum distance DSL products can achieve a doubling of existing average download speeds for Australia. This is the basis for using 2.5klm radius from the exchanges in this report.
Map 1: Lismore Exchanges and Exchange Service Areas
DSL services Using the information sourced from the Akamai report for Australia showing that the average download here is 4.9Mbps, this report is seeking to be able to identify areas where the average speed can be increased. The area of Lismore that is within the 2.5klm radius of the 24 exchanges is 446.9klms2 or 34% of the land area. A number of these exchanges do not have DSL. Or if they do, the serviceable 12Mbps radius falls outside of Lismore boundary. This significantly erodes the potential ADLS 2 coverage for Lismore.
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Exchanges without ADSL2 services The following exchanges are not listed as having ADSL2 services: Cawongla South Gundumrimba Bentley Koonorigan Wongavale
Exchanges more than 2.5klm from Lismore local government area boundary Clovass and Alstonville exchanges do not have any effective coverage of ADSL2 above 12mbps in the Lismore local government area.
Map 2: Lismore Exchanges, ADSL service levels and 2.5klm radius
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Technology solutions to overcome the limitations of the copper network Telstra has committed to deploying almost 1900 IP DSLAM (Top Hats) to areas inside and outside the 2.5klm radius across Australia in 2012. Many of these have become operational in recent months. The estimated value of these installations is $60 90k depending on whether there is a transit fibre build required and whether the cost is based on wholesale cost or not. The time required to deploy, install and become fully operational is approximately 6 months.
Figure 2: Example of Telstra Top Hat installation
Source: crowdsupport.telstra.com.au 120906 Note: The IP DSLAM (Top Hat) is installed on top of existing Telstra infrastructure hence the term Top Hat.
Lismore locations with Telstra IP DSLAM (Top Hats) In the Lismore area there are only 3 IP DSLAM (Top Hat) locations. All 3 are in Goonellabah.
Table 1: Telstra IP DSLAM (Top Hat) builds for Lismore
Telstra Wholesale Reference GONH-CA19-Map-GONH-DA19.pdf GONH-CA28-Map-GONH-DA28.pdf GONH-CA31-Map-GONH-DA31.pdf
Scheduled go live Sep-2012 Oct-Dec 2012 Aug-2012
Actual go live date
16-Aug-12
Source: http://www.telstrawholesale.com.au/download/document/tophat.xls - 9 September 2012
3.1.2.
Benchmark to Gold Coast
The Gold Coast has 51 exchanges servicing its area. There is a higher concentration of exchanges by land area and head of population. The area within 2.5klm radius of the exchanges is equivalent to 622klm2 or 46.66% of the land area. Only the Woolgoolga exchange is not listed to have DSL services. Telstra IP DSLAM (Top Hat) Telstra has identified for Queensland the largest proportion of Top Hat installations with 625 of 1874 installations happening Australia wide. The Gold Coast has 151 or 8% of all top hat installations. Lismore by comparison has only 3 or 0.16%. The listing of all Australian Top Hat locations and specific plans for areas to be covered is available at http://www.telstrawholesale.com.au/download/document/tophat.xls. The Gold Coast Top Hat program is nearing completion with most of the sites either operational or planned for completion within a few months. This program will substantially increase the DSL coverage and increase the average download speeds there to above the base NBN base service of 12Mbps.
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Map 3: Gold Coast City Council Exchanges and Exchange Service Areas
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Map 4: Gold Coast City Council ADSL to 2.5klms
3.1.3.
Lismore Fixed Broadband Investment Priorities
The combination of a higher density of exchanges and the Top Hat programs on the Gold Coast will position that local government area in a strong position to take advantage of higher average broadband access speeds. The net result of this is that the Gold Coast has the potential to achieve greater GRP based on higher broadband speeds. For Lismore, there will be two focus areas for Telstra investment in Fixed Broadband infrastructure: Exchange upgrades to provide DSL services Identification and installation of IP DSLAM (Top Hats) Proposed Exchange Upgrade locations The following list is based on the Lismore baseline assessment completed above. The locations where exchanges could be upgraded as an immediate priority are:
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Cawongla South Gundumrimba Bentley Koonorigan Wongavale
Timing and Cost The installation of DSL (DSLAM) equipment in exchanges has been completed in over 2000 of Telstra 2500+ exchanges. Contemporary costs for DSLAMs is less than $50k unless the site required associated upgrades, to meet the building environmental requirements (this may include airconditioning and power management equipment). For the five locations currently not serviced by ADSL2+, the estimated cost to Telstra Wholesale would be approx. $250k. The business case for deployment in each of these locations would need to have lower standards than in urbanised locations due to the potential client numbers. There is a strong potential for Council to improve the DSLAM installation business case by engaging directly with the communities to be benefited and establishing the demand. Top Hat locations. The Lismore baseline assessment and benchmarking against the Gold Coast highlighted the preparedness for Telstra to invest in the Top Hat infrastructure where the network has higher levels of competition and a long term objective of retaining customers post the NBN rollout there. The initial three Top Hat sites in Lismore at Goonellabah represent the first steps towards providing high-speed DSL based broadband services to Lismore. With the limited time available to prepare this report it has not been possible to specify where the next Top Hat deployments should occur in Lismore. Four factors influence the network design and prioritising of the Top Hast installations in other areas. They are: 1. 2. 3. 4. line distance for the exchange quality/age of existing copper services potential number of customers recognised demand for improved services
Only Telstra are able to complete assessment of the actual line distance (it does not travel in a direct line but rather follows the road network) and their own technicians will have records of line faults etc. The total number of customers on the network that are Telstra or completion controlled is also only known by Telstra. Council has the capacity to influence the demand for DSL services based on community consultation. Other Councils have successfully used demand aggregation tools to help build the business case for Telstra investment in infrastructure. The key recommendation here for Lismore Council is to seek Telstras review of its network and identify the 20 to 30 locations where it is prepared to install Top Hat equipment in within the next 6 months. The estimated cost of these sites would be $1Mil to $1.5Mil. The business case for deployment in each of these locations would need to have lower standards then in urbanised locations due to the potential client numbers. There is a strong potential for Council to improve the DSLAM installation business case by engaging directly with the communities to be benefited and establishing the demand.
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A Council led program designed to drive demand for new services is also recommended. This program would focus on raising awareness, skilling and uptake around the benefits of DSL (and mobile broadband). Once businesses and the community are aware of the availability of new services and have increased skills around its use, the downstream benefits can begin to be realised. In addition a demand aggregation project is recommended for Lismore. This project could also be funded by Telstra as part of its call centre exit strategy. A program of this nature would require approx. $50k in cash and could potentially leverage as much as $100k in in-kind from Council and community based advertising and communication.
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3.2.
Mobile Broadband Infrastructure
Mobile broadband infrastructure is best assessed on coverage and capacity. The focus of coverage is on the reduction of non-service areas. Capacity on the other hand relates to the throughput and associated limitations. The rollout of 4G in Australia has been spearheaded by Telstra with a substantial footprint now in high traffic areas. It is unlikely that Telstra will roll the technology out to all 18,000 sites across Australia. Optus announced in August their mobilization of a 4G network on the back of extensive testing and trial sites in Newcastle. In the context of this report, the number of sites and the associated spectrum in each location will be assessed for opportunities to increase coverage and capacity to the area.
3.2.1.
Lismore Baseline
Telstra has 12 mobile broadband sites servicing the Lismore City Council area. A number of these are located in adjacent local government areas. Since the completion of the DEG Independent Broadband Testing Report in January of this year, it is clear that Telstra have provided additional 4G coverage to Goonellabah and Buckendoon (to an estimated value of $300k) in addition to the existing Lismore coverage. Establishing a new site can cost from $350K, when co-locating with another carrier and not building a fibre transit link, through to $600K where a completely new site is built and fibre transit links are built from day 1. Mobile broadband sites typically have a range of different radio frequency spectrum equipment to suit the number and concentration of customers and distance to the next site.
Table 2: Lismore Telstra Mobile Broadband Sites
Site ID
8503 8514 8518 8533 8540 8542 55749 130846 280113 280138 280250 9002556 9009925
Latitude
-28.798136 -28.813834 -28.811392 -28.547151 -28.824228 -28.546455 -28.572854 -29.015552 -28.858977 -28.803661 -29.046626 -29.076016 -28.816071
Longitude Address
153.260377 153.344249 153.275557 153.28654 153.316445 153.286968 153.069868 153.441027 153.227668 153.290498 153.342718 153.33848 153.402069 Telstra Site Quarry Hill NORTH LISMORE Site 2 Ballina Road GOONELLABAH Telstra Exchange Molesworth Street LISMORE ABRN6 TV Tower 30 km N of Lismore MT NARDI Telstra Radio Terminal Fischer Street at Duke Street GOONELLABAH Telstra Tower 2 30 km N of Lismore MT NARDI Telstra Radio Terminal Homeleigh Mountain KYOGLE Vodafone Site Quarry off Pacific Highway BROADWATER Telstra site PARROTS NEST Optus Site High Street LISMORE Telstra Site Buckendoon School Lane BUCKENDOON Telstra Exchange Woodburn 24 Woodburn Street WOODBURN Telstra RBS Site Cnr Bruxner Hwy and Converys Lane WOLLONGBAR
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Source: Source: ACMA Spectrum Licence Report May 2012
The 13 Lismore sites use a number of these different technologies including the following:
Table 3: Telstra ACMA licence categories for Lismore City Council Area
1.8 GHz 2000 Lower Band 1.8 GHz Lower Band 1.8 GHz Upper Band 2 GHz Upper Band A 2 GHz Upper Band B 800 MHz Lower Band Land Mobile System - > 30MHz PMTS Class B (935-960 MHz) Point to Point Source: ACMA Spectrum Licence Report May 2012 The 13 Telstra sites for Lismores (1290 klm2) is equivalent to one site every 99.2 klms2. The comparison for the Gold Coast City Council is one Telstra site for every 6.35 klms2. In terms of the ration of sites per head of population, the Gold Coast has one site for every 2,431 people on the Gold Coast. Lismore has one site for every 3,406 people. To match the ratio of sites to people, Telstra would need to add an additional five sites. As a stark contrast, to match the ratio of sites to land area Telstra would have to increase its number of sites by almost 188. Even at $350k per site this would require some $65 million to implement. Digital Economy Group Independent Broadband Testing Testing of mobile broadband signal strength and downloads in December 2011 - January 2012 revealed extensive areas of Lismore that have no coverage or very poor mobile broadband coverage. Telstra coverage maps (http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile-phones/coverage-networks/ourcoverage/mobile-broadband/) identify no service coverage in Coffee Camp, the Channon and other rural areas. In addition, significant proportions of Lismore including: Bentley, Rocky Valley, Dunoon, Whain Whain, Larnock Tucki Tuki and Tuckrimba have extensive and persistent Blackspots and very poor service coverage. The testing methodology for the Independent Broadband Testing included feedback from community members. Paucity of service in and around the rural schools, community centres and for farm based businesses represent a barrier to effective competition with urbanised locations. The DEG IBT report including the detailed test results for these locations referred to above, has been provided to Council. In recognition of the poor ratio of ADSL accessibility combined with the coverage by the mobile services, upgrading of existing sites to 4G will be the most cost effective solution in the Lismore area to increase capacity and coverage.
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3.2.2.
Benchmark to the Gold Coast
In terms of mobile broadband infrastructure, Telstra has 210 sites (including 3024 licenced items in total) providing services to parts of the Gold Coast. Based on the land area of 1,333.7 km2, this represents one site per 6.35klm2. Use of the Telstra mobile broadband coverage website (http://www.telstra.com.au/mobilephones/coverage-networks/our-coverage/mobile-broadband/) clearly illustrates the intensity of deployment by Telstra there. The map below highlights the extreme contrast in the total number of mobile broadband sites between Lismore and the Gold Coast. Both maps have been prepared at the same scale to make the comparison valid.
Map 5: Comparison of Telstra mobile broadband sites in both local government areas
Sources: ACMA May 2012, ABS Local Government boundaries, 2012; DEG interpretation Conclusion In terms of mobile broadband, the Gold Coast has a very high level of both coverage and capacity for the number of sites and the spectrum technologies deployed across the whole area. The extent of high quality 4G and 3G coverage provides an additional layer of broadband penetration that is supporting the capability for the Gold Coast to achieve significantly higher Gross Regional Product outcomes per square kilometre and per head of population.
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3.2.3.
Lismore Mobile Broadband Investment Priorities
Telstra have two major options to increase coverage and capacity of service in the Lismore area. They are either potential new sites and/or upgrades of existing mobile broadband sites with additional spectrum technologies and associated licences. As highlighted in the report above additional new towers are needed to achieve equitable coverage and capacity of service to the Gold Coast. The candidates identified below for new is based on a synthesis of the current locations, the Telstra advertised coverage, the previous Independent Broadband Testing by DEG and consideration of how implementation of equipment at these sites will generate a many fold increase in broadband availability. The candidate sites are as follows with two levels of priority: Towers New Towers/sites Priority 1 - Bexhill and Clunes coverage from the Lismore and Goonellabah sites is only successful if a user is on the south western side of these locations. The location of an additional tower at Clunes (possibly using the water tower) would provide substantially increased mobile broadband coverage and even out the current variations in servicer coverage. Priority 2 - The communities of Bentley, Rocky Valley, Dunoon, Whain Whain, Larnock Tucki Tuki and Tuckrimba will ideally need new sites to be established in order to reduce the current extensive and persistent Blackspots and very poor service coverage there. Existing Tower upgrade opportunities The combination of distance from enabled exchanges and paucity of high quality mobile broadband coverage across Lismore has restricted the ability for businesses, individuals and community groups to effectively access and compete with national and international markets on equitable terms. Upgrades to the following towers with 4G services would provide significant increases in broadband penetration potential many times faster than available levels: Nimbin (located to the North East) o The community in this valley have a long history of alternative living and include internationally recognised businesses/consultancies Cawongla (located to the North West) o Within this area is a small but significant population of rural based businesses Pelican Creek Rd site o This site would create continuity of coverage along the Bruxner Highway linking Lismore and Casino. Significant landholdings of rural businesses are located across this large floodplain. Wollongbar and Alstonville o These two sites are located to the east of Lismore on the Bruxner highway towards Ballina. The upgrading of these sites would have a potential benefit directly to a number of Lismore City Council land areas (subject to topography). A second benefit arises from the extension of 4G services to people and businesses that share or contribute to both the Lismore and Ballina urban communities. Broadwater and Woodburn o Located on or servicing the National Highway along the southern eastern border of Lismore the upgrade of these sites to 4G would enable high speed broadband for both those traveling and rural based businesses
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4. Priorities and Recommendations

There are three key priorities for Lismore City Council to minimise the impact of the Telstra call centre closure. They are: 1. Seek a significant fixed broadband infrastructure commitment from Telstra including the upgrade of existing exchanges without DSL services and the deployment of 20 to 30 Top Hat locations to increase DSL availability across Lismore 2. Seek a significant commitment to new mobile broadband infrastructure including up to five new sites and the upgrade of existing sites to 4G and other associated technologies designed to increase coverage and capacity. 3. A Council led program designed to drive demand for new services is also recommended. This program would focus on raising awareness, skilling and uptake around the benefits of DSL (and mobile broadband). Once businesses and the community are aware of the availability of new services and have increased skills around its use, the downstream benefits can begin to be realised. In addition a demand aggregation project is recommended for Lismore. This project could also be funded by Telstra as part of its call centre exit strategy. A program of this nature would require approx. $50k in cash and could potentially leverage as much as $100k in in-kind from Council and community based advertising and communication.. The preparedness of Telstra to consider investment in new infrastructure and programs should be informed by the assessment and recommendations above. The clear advantage by the Gold Coast compared to Lismore in terms of both fixed and mobile broadband highlights the opportunity for Telstra to rectify its inequitable distribution of assets and in turn provide Lismore with the potential to benefit from, and harness the new infrastructure in this transitional period.
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Lismore City Council Digital Infrastructure Assessment Report - September 2012

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Lismore City Council

Digital Infrastructure Assessment Report

Digital Economy Group Pty Ltd ABN 48 153 285 191

P.O. Box 1191 Nambour, Queensland 4560

2 September 2012 9 September 2012 9 September 2012

Digital Economy Group Pty Ltd ABN 48 153 285 191

P.O. Box 1191 Nambour, Queensland 4560