back to article nbn™ CEO pleads with staff to control costs in ‘seeya later’ letter

The outgoing CEO of nbn™, the company building and operating Australia’s national broadband network (NBN), has implored the company’s staff to “keep our costs down” in the “note to employees” announcing his departure. Posted to LinkedIn, Bill Morrow’s note says “I kindly ask for your ongoing support in three areas: 1) …

  1. Likkie

    Um... he's leaving...

    he doesn't get to leave AND keep bossing the staff around :)

    1. Youngone Silver badge

      Re: Um... he's leaving...

      It sounds like nbn is the worst of all possible worlds really, a monopoly formed by government fiat and with too much expensive debt.

      No wonder my Aussie colleagues hate it so much. Try getting a new high speed nbn connection in such out-of-the-way places as Newcastle, or Perth. It can take months.

      Also, any "...recent study by well-respected economists.." will be full of wrong, because that's what economists specialise in.

      1. Likkie

        Re: Um... he's leaving...

        The problem is that only a government entity could achieve what the nbn is required to do in a place like Australia which has vast empty areas and many far-flung small-population centres. Leaving it to private enterprise will, quite properly, mean that only profitable areas will get any attention.

      2. eldakka

        Re: Um... he's leaving...

        I wouldn't call either Perth (population 2million) or Newcastle (pop 320k, only 160km north of Sydney) out of the way.

        Louth, NSW, on the other hand...

  2. CFtheNonPartisan

    Reckon he is a best mate with Sol Trujillo? Grabbing the money and running is what their ilk is best at.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Says the greedy American who refused to back down on CVC costs, and when he was forced into it and the rumour that the expensive millstone of the HFC network will also be dumped, he resigns.

  4. Carl D

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-04/nbn-co-boss-bill-morrow-resigns/9617210

    "The National Broadband Network project was a complete train wreck that we inherited from the Labor Party and it was really the biggest turnaround, I would think, in Australian history."

    "Bill is a great leader. He's turned the project around. It is now about two-thirds finished and it's well on track to be completed by 2020."

    - Malcolm Turnbull.

    What planet is Malcolm living on? Here on Earth, Malcolm and the Liberal Party have made a complete mess of the NBN. Roll on the next Federal election...

  5. JJKing
    Flame

    Good bloody riddance.

    If the idiots had stayed with FTTP then users would have had the option to go with the highset speed plan and there would have been 3 media to look after. Fibre, Wireless and Satellite. Would have been a lot easier to sell off than the clusterfuck that is presently there. Only a quarter of Node connections can get 100/40, something I would have signed up for but I will be lucky if I can obtain 50/20 if they ever get the Node outside my house working. 11 bloody months ago it was finished and they are now telling us it will be another 6 months and that crap started about 9 months ago.

    Mr 457 visa yes man took a reasonable network and turned it into the desired liberal trainwreck. Then spent $700,000 to change the bloody name? What the fuck for? was NBN Co much worse than nbn?

  6. mathew42
    FAIL

    Discounting CVC was the worst decision Morrow made.

    Labor configured the NBNCo financial model to have revenue growth from CVC (data) and to keep AVC (connection fees) as low as possible. Under Morrow, NBNCo has discounted CVC to lower than Labor ever planned and encouraged RSPs to offer unlimited plans.

    NBNCo don't have a revenue growth stream.

    NBNCo have no incentive to provide a congestion free network because they won't see revenue grow.

    RSPs have no incentive to offer faster plans because ACCC are hot on 'actual speeds'.

    Labor's mistake was speed tiers.

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