Can NBN Co avoid another ‘insulation installation’ debacle?

The National Broadband Network is currently the largest infrastructure project within Australia, promising to elevate our nation’s communication capabilities to world-class levels. The problem is we lack the skills necessary to deliver it. Without the appropriate groundwork right now to build skill levels, there is a very real risk of this government initiative turning into an embarrassing debacle.

Between 2003 and 2007, large investments were made in Australia’s access and core networks, which created demand for additional resources to deploy and maintain the growing telecommunications infrastructure. We also witnessed the introduction of new technology, including the rationalisation of TDM to packet-switched technologies, which were adequately accommodated on the back of the skills delivered through mainstream training academies like Telstra and TAFE colleges.

In recent years, however, major players adopted a ‘wait-and-see’ approach towards the National Broadband Network (NBN), due to the uncertainty associated with footprint expansion subsequently reducing major investment in network capability and providing very little opportunity for those entering our industry.

In the 90s, there was also a strong shift from trade to academic study which saw industry newcomers directed to office-based activities rather than field-based cabling activities.

Furthermore, the decision by tier-one carriers to own their own training programs resulted in newcomers unable to leverage off more experienced personnel. Now, in 2010, we no longer have the same level of training infrastructure, nor the talent pool of skilled people who are able to deploy copper and fibre networks to adequately address the monumental task of delivering the NBN.

The outsourced training model is a commercially driven one and primarily based on the lowest-price/maximum pass rate. This usually comprises ‘PowerPoint-in-a-classroom’ delivery, however, to be effective, training for any trade should be tactile, not merely a ‘show-and-tell’ exercise. In the case of optical fibre, many RTOs accommodate for a LAN-based installation standard without any reference to the very different installation complexities and demands of a telecommunications network.

This presents a serious challenge to NBN Co for its fibre installation - singlemode connectorised installation - if those who are contracted to install it have multimode fibre experience or LAN installation experience only, that is, not possessing the skills necessary for successful installation of a telecommunications WAN network. This leaves the installation exposed to workmanship at the lowest possible common denominator - a generic commercial skill level - rather than to a technical standard.

The fact that it is no longer commercially viable for contractors to engage in training further compounds the skills shortage problem. In their competitive market, they cannot afford a high-cost, skilled resource to coach a newcomer to the industry to effect a knowledge transfer (a buddy training program).

The skill level of those who will build the network and the control measures for installation quality must be determined by the owner of the network. NBN Co and other carriers should mandate the benchmark for quality of the training delivered to qualify their construction and service activation workforce (both internally and externally).

Furthermore, regular audits should be conducted to ensure the quality of workmanship is maintained. The industry needs to recognise and value the skills needed to build different aspects of a telecommunication network. A connectorised fibre access network has very different needs to a core network build with a high fibre count.

Mathew Wegener is Managing Director of Celemetrix, a specialist test and measurement and consulting services company which provides a range of technical solutions that assist organisations to design, build and assure the performance of telecommunications and IT networks. Wegener possesses over 20 years of fibre optic experience in APAC and is author to Australia’s leading FTTP training package. He was also a finalist in the 2007 Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.