RRA :: Consulting Electrical Engineers

	+ NBN CO. ANNOUNCES LONG DELAY UNTIL NEW HOMES SERVED 23rd November, 2011 +
	NBN Co. has just advised us that they cannot connect fibre to homes in new greenfield estates until 6 months after civil construction has been completed. This is quite unrealistic and unacceptable. But there is a solution, if NBN Co. is interested....


	+ Telstra/NBN Co Breakthrough - The Way Is Now Clear 17th October, 2011 +
	We have just been advised by Telstra that a confidential Agreement has been reached with NBN Co that will allow NBN Co to install NBN greenfield fibre in conduits which have been installed by Telstra....


	+ Telstra/NBN Game-playing Preventing Installation of NBN Fibre in ManyNew Estates 12th October, 2011 +
	It appears that cynical game-playing between Telstra and NBN Co is preventing the installation of NBN fibre in new estates. This is in clear contradiction of the DBCDE's policy update of 22 June 2011. While each of the Telcos tries to gain an advantage over the other, householders are being forced to accept copper....


	+ Developers Beware: New Legislation Mandates Fibre-Ready Estates 10th October, 2011 +
	Developers, consultants, contractors and local authorities should be aware that the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Fibre Deployment) Act 2011, which received royal assent on 26 September 2011, mandates the installation of fibre-ready conduits in virtually all new subdivisions and other developments. This is now Commonwealth law, enforceable by ACMA....


	+ Telstra Refusing to Accept Conduits Installed by Developers 6th October, 2011 +
	Developers beware of this trap! In estates which do not qualify for NBN greenfield fibre, Telstra must provide telephone services under its USO. However if developers decide to design and install the Telstra conduits, Telstra is then refusing to accept ownership, leaving developers with an unwanted and open-ended liability....


	+ Telstra Certificate For Plan-sealing 11th August, 2011 +
	Plan sealing will now be delayed by 6-8 weeks. Telstra will not issue an Infrastructure Provisioning Confirmation until its conduits and pits have been installed....


	+ Oops! BCC Reversal Not a Reversal After All 10th August, 2011 +
	Our story on Brisbane City Council's withdrawing its policy of requiring BCC telecommunications conduits to be provided by land developers was somewhat premature. The announcement was mostly smoke and mirrors. Is this the greatest waste of community money yet by a local authority?...


	+ BCC Withdraws Fibre Requirement 19th July, 2011 +
	Lord Mayor, Graham Quirk, last night announced that Brisbane City Council would not enforce its Development Guideline requiring the provision of a broadband fibre network by developers. The Guideline will be reduced to requiring a dedicated communications conduit on major roads, for installation, by Council, of a communications network to control traffic signals, etc....


	+ Two-week Delay For Energex Street Light Deliveries 13th July, 2011 +
	Energex has today advised us of a two-week delay in the delivery of street lights. All estates will be delayed by up to two weeks....


	+ Brisbane City Council Forcing Developers to Duplicate NBN Infrastructure 12th July, 2011 +
	Brisbane City Council has rolled out a policy which will force developers to duplicate the NBN conduit installations, at the additional cost of up to $1000 per lot. Council is abusing its regulatory power by forcing developers to build a second network of conduits and pits, to be handed over to Council. And the reason for this policy? Well that is very interesting. And what developers do not realise is that there may be more to come - much more....


	+ Telstra Still Stubbornly Refusing to Hand Over NBN Conduits 12th July, 2011 +
	Telstra still has not delivered to NBN Co the ownership of conduits and pits which Telstra has installed in greenfield estates at developers' cost. Neither has Telstra handed over "as constructed" drawings. We have sent formal requests to Telstra, but still it refuses. This flies in the face of the Minister's Statement of 22 June 2011, that agreement had been reached for Telstra to hand these over to NBN Co. Again we ask: What is Telstra's real agenda? ...


	+ At Last - Minister Confirms Telstra to Transfer Conduits to NBN Co 22nd June, 2011 +
	The Minister for Communications, Stephen Conroy, has today issued a Statement which formally resolves the issue of ownership of conduits which have been installed by Telstra, at developers' expense, in NBN greenfield estates....


	+ TELSTRA Vs. NBN -THE ALARM BELLS ARE RINGING 15th June, 2011 +
	The long-awaited statement released by the Minister for Communications this evening has proved to be a damp squib. It told us nothing we did not already know. It did not resolve the Telstra-NBN stalemate over ownership of conduits in greenfield estates. Meanwhile, installation of NBN fibre is effectively blocked in all estates where Telstra has installed conduits. But do both NBN Co and Telstra have hidden agendas here? Is this what they both really want? The alarm bells are ringing loudly....


	+ NBN Fact Sheet Here 5th April, 2011 +
	NBN Co has just published a helpful Fact Sheet which explains how fibre will be installed in greenfields developments. It can be downloaded here....


	+ NBN/Telstra Arm Wrestle 31st March, 2011 +
	Telstra (Qld) is doing a mighty job helpng to avoid delays with design and construction of NBN conduits and pits, but it's an arm wrestle between NBN Co and Telstra over ownership of those conduits and pits. So development looks like coming to a halt....


	+ Ergon Transformer Policy Adds to Developers' Costs (and Ergon's too) 18th May, 2010 +
	Ergon recently introduced a policy which requires virtually all new transformers in residential areas to be 315 kVA. The industry "standard" 500 kVA transformer is not allowed, despite the fact that this would reduce the overall cost of transformers by about $200 per lot. And Ergon's ongoing maintenance costs would be reduced significantly. Was the AER aware of this waste of funds when they were setting tariffs? ...


	+ FOI Investigation of Pine Rivers EMF Policy 23rd September, 2009 +
	A Freedom of Information investigation of Moreton Bay Regional Council - Pine Rivers District's EMF policy has revealed the background to this District's uniquely restrictive planning policy, which prevents residential development near electricity transmission lines. Council's policy is flawed, and it has been told as much by its own consultant....


	+ Moreton Bay Regional Council EMF restrictions lack foundation 2nd November, 2008 +
	Two of the recently-amalgamated local authorities in south-east Queensland continue to impose development restrictions in the vicinity of high voltage transmission lines. They are the former Caboolture Shire Council and Pine Rivers Shire Council - now part of Moreton Bay Regional Council. ...


	+ Secure RRA Website Access Now Available 20th April, 2007 +
	Clients, project managers, civil engineers and surveyors can now gain immediate access to details of all of their current RRA jobs. ...


	+ Ergon's Subdivision Policy 4th April, 2007 +
	Developers will be pleased to know that Ergon's new policy for design and construction of underground electricity and street lights in subdivisions has now commenced....