ACRS NEWS – NOVEMBER 2020
INVITATION TO ALL REGISTERED CABLERS
ACRS has been working very closely with NECA Victoria to organise a Virtual Conference & Tradeshow for the Electrical and Communications Industry!
The virtual experience is new for us and we are delighted to announce that ACRS will be and Exhibitor.
The Virtual Exhibition Hall will be bought to life with interactive exhibition booths, live chats and downable content.
There are less than 3 weeks left before we open our virtual doors for this spectacular show.
Register today to get your all-access pass!
We would love to see you there!
Register here: https://neca.vfairs.com/
ACMA COMPETENCY REQUIREMENTS FOR REGISTERED CABLERS
In 2012, the Australian and Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) implemented changes to the competency requirements for Registered Cabling Providers (Cablers) to address concerns within the cabling industry that Cablers may not have the appropriate skills required to perform specialised cabling work for the current and emerging cabling environment.
Much of this was driven by the introduction of the National Broadband Network (NBN), where customer telecommunications systems are increasingly becoming IP/ethernet-based and therefore must function over higher data rate capable customer cabling.
There was a two year transitional period, which required Cablers to have the necessary competencies in whatever specialist field of cabling they are working in, by 1 July 2014.
ACRS has been receiving many enquiries regarding these competency changes and upskilling.
Employers are continually looking for well-balanced people with transferable skills and able to demonstrate that you are adaptable and willing to learn.
If you hold a current OPEN registration and looking to extend your skills and knowledge, you can complete some educational courses.
If you are working with structured cabling, coaxial cable or fibre optics, these specialised cabling competencies will need to be completed to upskill your registration.
These competencies form the basis for training programs developed by industry skills councils and delivered by recognised training organisations.
If you wish to complete any relevant competencies, please contact your NECA training centre who will offer you expert advice in selecting the relevant course that suits your needs or click here for a full list of RTO’s Australia wide.
NECA Training NSW 02 9188 4424
NECA Education & Careers VIC 03 9381 1922
College of Electrical Training (CET) Joondalup WA 08 9233 5000
College of Electrical Training (CET) Jandakot WA 08 6595 6600
Once you complete your competency training, you can upgrade your registration simply by completing an ‘Upgrade of Registration’ form. Complete the form and submit it along with your new Statement of Results to ACRS via email or post. A new updated card and a certificate will then be sent to your postal address.
The cost for a new card is $25, unless you are upgrading your registration at the same time as renewing, when there is no additional fee for the upgrade.
NBN Co extends fibre to additional 100,000 premises and continues HFC upgrade as part of $4.5 billion network investment plan
• Fibre extension underway in parts of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia
• Hybrid Fibre Cable (HFC) network upgrade to offer download speeds of 500 Mbps to close to 1 Gbps 1 to approximately 625,000 premises, or around 25 per cent of the HFC network footprint by November 2020
NBN Co is starting work this week to extend fibre deeper into communities in selected metropolitan and regional areas of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.
NBN Co’s initial extension of fibre deeper into local communities will pass more than 100,000 premises in areas currently serviced by Fibre to the Node (FTTN) technology. The company will progressively continue to select, design and construct new fibre extensions over the next two years and is aiming to pass around 2 million premises by the end of 2023.
NBN Co will consult with internet retailers before finalising the design for its extended fibre network and is planning to make further announcements in early 2021 about its future rollout plans.
The footprint for the 100,000 eligible premises has been designed by NBN Co where we anticipate strong demand for higher speeds; where NBN Co has established construction and delivery partners with an existing workforce in place following the recent completion of the initial build of the nbn network; where it can deploy with speed and agility; where it is cost-effective to start work now; and in a way that the investment is most likely to spread and multiply economic activity across the nation.
The extension of fibre deeper into communities will ultimately enable customers living and working in affected premises to place an order for a higher speed services, which is likely to trigger the construction of a fibre lead-in direct to individual customers’ premises. This will effectively complete their conversion from Fibre to the Node (FTTN) to Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) technology, on demand, if that is what is required to deliver the desired speed to individual premises.
NBN Co will work closely with internet retailers over the coming months to define the process by which eligible customers can express their interest in ordering a higher speed broadband service and acquiring a fibre lead-in to their premises.
The extension of fibre to service these 100,000 additional premises will cover parts of the following towns and suburbs:
· Belmont North, Charlestown, Toronto, Carramar, Castle Hill, Holsworthy, Liverpool, and Wetherill Park in New South Wales;
· Lyndhurst and Narre Warren in Victoria;
· Acacia Ridge, Browns Plains, Eight Mile and Oxenford in Queensland;
· Osborne in South Australia, and
· Cannington and Double View in Western Australia.
The initial work to extend fibre deeper into communities, passing 100,000 premises, represents approximately 5 per cent of Local Fibre Network build program.
This marks the start of NBN Co’s $4.5 billion network investment program, which aims to make nbn‘s highest wholesale speed tiers available2, as demand arises, to around 8 million premises – or up to 75 per cent of homes and businesses on the fixed line network by 2023.
NBN Co also reports that it is making good progress on its Hybrid Fibre Cable (HFC) network upgrade program. Since the company launched itsnbn Home Fast, nbn Home Superfast and nbn Home Ultrafast wholesale speed tiers in May 2020, 100 per cent of customers connected via HFC have been able to order nbn Home Fast; approximately 70 per cent have been able to order nbn Home Superfast, and approximately 7 per cent of customers in the HFC footprint have been able to access the fastest residential speed tier1.
NBN Co is working to ensure that by the end of November 2020, more than 25 per cent of premises in the HFC footprint will be able to order nbn Ultrafast broadband1. The company expects that by June 2021 over two-thirds of premises in the HFC network footprint will be able to order nbn Ultrafast broadband, and it forecasts that by the end of 2021 nearly the entire HFC network footprint should be able to order nbn Ultrafast broadband, which is capable of achieving wholesale download speeds of 500Mbps to close to 1Gbps.
NBN Co Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Rue, said:
“We are investing now and will be working hard in suburbs and towns throughout Australia over the next three years to make the nbn ready for the high-speed broadband needs and data demands of the future.
“More than 72 per cent of our fixed line network is already capable of supporting wholesale download speeds of 100 Mbps or faster, and new demand for higher speed services is emerging quickly as customers realise the social, economic and lifestyle benefits that fast broadband can deliver3.
“We have connected more than 950,000 premises to the nbn network this year alone, and there has been increasing interest from customers connecting to the nbn for the first time for plans offering download speeds of around 100 Mbps or better.
“Throughout 2020, as people have worked, studied and increasingly entertained themselves at home, approximately 55,000 customers have chosen to upgrade via their internet provider to plans offering download speeds of around 100 Mbps or better.
“We see this demand for higher speed broadband services accelerating in the years ahead as more people connect more devices within their homes, and we continue to automate our homes, which inevitably requires faster download and upload speeds and greater capacity to be built into the network.”
NBN Media Release
ACMA enhances NBN consumer experience rules
With 1.5 million premises predicted to move to the NBN over the next few years, we have enhanced NBN consumer experience rules to protect Australians during the final phase of the migration.
The improvements, which follow a review by the ACMA, will benefit both consumers and telco providers.
21 – 23 july 2021
ICC SYDNEY, DARLING HARBOUR
SAVE THE DATE
Diversified Communications Australia is pleased to announce that Integrate will return to Sydney in 2021 and for the first time ever, be co-located with our sister show, the Security Exhibition & Conference – Australia’s largest security industry event. The events will be held simultaneously, this means that the dates and location of Integrate will now be 21-23 July 2021, ICC Sydney .
The co-location is set to significantly enhance Australia’s leading AV and Integration and Security events, becoming the only exhibition in Australia to service both industries. Integrate has long been a platform for innovation and showcasing the latest interactive technologies for the Australian AV industry. The Security Exhibition & Conference, also part of the Diversified Communications Australia Technology Portfolio, is dedicated to driving technology and solutions in the Australian security industry. Now with the increased demand for AV solutions across sectors, including security functions, it is an ideal time to co-locate with Security – opening new opportunities that have arisen across both spaces.
In recent years and even more so given the current climate, in each events respective communities, we have seen increasing synergies across both industries that have given rise to growth in areas such as Digital Transformation, IoT, Cyber and Network security, Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning, Service on Demand, Interactive Cameras and more – developments in convergence which have only accelerated of late.
The growth in these areas is driving genuine new interest from both an educational and product perspective, the co-location of Integrate and Security therefore allows the most current innovations to be brought to the forefront, opening up new education and demonstration opportunities for exhibitors and visitors of both events. It is an opportunity to expand reach to a broader community of end users, consultants, core AV and security installers and integrators who are interested in these solutions that sit across both industries. Hosting the two exhibitions together in Sydney, broadens the reach to a much wider market, the co-location is a natural fit as many of our visitors increasingly seek solutions across both physical security and integration elements, and suppliers continue to adapt to meet the rising demand for Artificial Intelligence and smart technologies.
The exhibition floor of each show will be held alongside each other, with new combined features to include a one-day Summit focused on digitisation, further details of this Summit will be available in due course.
5 November 2020
ACMA research reveals 2020 trends in viewing and listening habits of Australians
New research from the ACMA has revealed more Australians are using the internet to view and listen to content than ever before.
The research, conducted in June 2020, found that more than half (55 per cent) of Australian adults reported accessing an online subscription service (such as Netflix or Stan) in the previous week, up from 49 per cent in 2019.
In the same period, more than a third (36 per cent) had viewed content through a catch-up TV service, up from 28 per cent in 2019. ABC iview remains the most popular catch-up TV service.
Almost nine in ten (89 per cent) of Australian adults who use the internet watched video content online in the last six months to June 2020. Netflix, YouTube and Facebook were the most common services used to stream or download video content.
Of those who watched online video content, 40 per cent reported just starting or increasing their viewing since the COVID-19 restrictions in March 2020.
More than three-quarters (77 per cent) of online Australian adults had a subscription and/or pay-per-view service at home, up from 70 per cent in 2019. Netflix was the service with the most subscribers, followed by Foxtel and Stan.
Consumption of online audio content was up as well, with 63 per cent of Australian adults listening to a music streaming service in the previous week, up from 48 per cent in 2019. One in five (20 per cent) had listened to a podcast in the previous week.
The report, Trends in viewing and listening behaviour , presents data from our annual consumer survey of Australian adults.
This publication forms part of a broader program of research: Trends in online behaviour and technology usage was published in September 2020.
The research report, Trends in viewing and listening behaviour , has been published on the ACMA website .
USEFUL LINKS
ACRS www.acrs.com.au
Registered Cablers website www.registeredcablers.com.au
Dial before you dig www.1100.com.au
A2A and Network Boundary Issues www.telstra.com.au/smartcommunity/mybuilder.html
ACMA www.acma.gov.au
ACMA Complaints line www.acma.gov.au/Industry/Telco/Infrastructure/Cabling-rules/cabling-complaints
Communications Alliance www.commsalliance.com.au
Smart wired www.registeredcablers.com.au/smart-home-news.html .
NBN Co (How to Connect) https://www.nbnco.com.au/residential/how-to-connect
NBN Co (Cabling) : https://www.nbnco.com.au/develop-or-plan-with-the-nbn/new-developments/design-build-install/cabling
Australian Standards AS/CA S009 http://www.acma.gov.au/theACMA/customer-cabling-rules-and-requirements