NBN multicast service to launch in 2012
August 12, 2011
The National Broadband Network Company (NBN) has unveiled plans to launch its multi-cast video product in Australia, which will allow video services such as Foxtel to be delivered through the NBN in the middle of 2012, but the product will only be available for premises in the fibre footprint.
The multi-cast product will be made available for customers with NBN Internet services who reside in the 93 per cent of Australian premises to be covered by fibre. Retail service providers (RSPs) will need to pay A$250 per month per 100Mbps capacity at each point of interconnect (multi-cast domain), and will also be charged A$5 per month for the first 20Mbps each household uses on video services, with an additional A$5 per extra 10Mbps up to 60Mbps.
NBN predicts that standard-definition video can be delivered at between 3Mbps and 5Mbps, while high-definition video will be delivered at between 6Mbps and 8Mbps. Users will need a minimum of 6Mbps to 16Mbps once dual-mode set-top boxes, which allow users to watch one channel while recording another, are taken into account.