The Selectively excised NBN business case summary came out with the headline that the cost of installing the NBN had dropped from $43bn to $35.7bn.

What was omitted by the government was that the cost of buying Telstra's lines and conduits, and the cost for Telstra to de commission its existing hybrid fibre/copper network of $13.8bn had been excluded from this "cost".

How stupid does Stephen Conroy think the Australian public is? Who is going to pay the $13.8bn? The great sky fairy?

If this phantom costing was presented at a company general meeting the CEO would be sacked.

WHATEVER tax subsidised money..is being spent
its allways going to be wasted...

to meet the needs/greed..of a select elect few

i paid for the copper comming into my home
and dont use it..because the chose to rent it back to me

im not going to begin paying for fibre
but after its ben built..govt will sell it off
for cents in the dollar...

govt is too generouse with our compulsory tax
their enacting treasons..in removing the copper lines
that belongs..NOT TO TELSTRA...but the people...

that a privatised telstra sharholder is gaining
really burns me up...boycot all landlines...

and remember..odious*..debt...
[govt endebiting us taxpayers..*into odious debt]...is recoverable
and govt servants..colluding to decieve..is treason

stop subsidising their pension'..SCEME*..and put them in jail

and..seize their...*proceeds..*of crime..

Shadow Minister wrote 27 November 2010 11:23:00 AM:

>... the cost of buying Telstra's lines and conduits, and the cost for Telstra to de commission its existing hybrid fibre/copper network of $13.8bn had been excluded from this "cost". ...

NBN Co. is not buying the Telstra infrastructure, they are renting it. So the $13.8B is not part of the capital cost of the network.

You can some details in the NBN Co. Business Case Summary. I produced an easy to read web version: http://blog.tomw.net.au/2010/11/nbn-business-case-summary.html#nbnsum

This is not to say the NBN proposal is perfect. I would like to see a cost benefit analysis for the project and incorporation of wireless: http://blog.tomw.net.au/2010/11/nbn-business-case-summary.html

Tomw

In the real world where GAAP (Generally accepted Accounting practice) or later versions are used rather than the ENRON type accounting used for the NBN.

The questions that need to be asked are:
1) who is paying the $13.8bn?
2) Will the networks, infrastructure and decommissioning benefit any program other than the NBN.

The answers are 1) the taxpayer, 2) No

Therefore the costs of the Telstra acquisition can only accrue to the NBN project irrespective of whether it is actually costed to NBN co or not.

Any other accounting is the same VooDoo accounting (hiding costs) that sank ENRON.

Shadow Minister:>> If this phantom costing was presented at a company general meeting the CEO would be sacked.<<

SM, the last three Labor years have been like a bad dream, but we had the opportunity to wake from it, but we did not, so now the nightmare begins. The NBN (biggest single spend ever) and no cost benefit analysis, privacy caveats for the conspiratorial few that get to see the numbers. Beyond belief, stupid stupid Australia.

Tom Worthington/NBN Business Case Summary:

Here are a few questions that spring to mind after reading the above in your post.

What is the prime motivation for the NBN?

Risk assessment made no mention of the impact of changing social and economic conditions evolving over the ten year period to completion.

Does the NBN revamp promotion of IT technology threaten existing traditional retail and other industrial and commercial infrastructure?

What are the negative social impacts that a heavy reliance on internet convergence of services will affect by the NBN development?

What becomes of the concept of competition as TELSTRA becomes the proud recipient of the renewed technology?

The overall plan for NBN Co will be to float the company in approximately ten years: How will the float (Feeding frenzy) impact on cost to consumers of the original egalitarian concept of the NBN at that point. Is ten years the expected life of the dream?

What is the capacity of the satellite to fulfil its expectations of service provider to remote locations and has the interface between satellite and the cable network been clearly defined?