[dbaggerman]

To clarify, NBN is a monopoly on the last mile infrastructure which is resold to private ISPs that sell internet services.

The history there is that Australia used to have a government run monopoly on telephone infrastructure and services (Telecom Australia), which was later privatised (and rebranded to Telstra). The privatisation left Telstra with a monopoly on the infrastructure, but also a requirement that they resell the last mile at a reasonable rate to allow for some competition.

So Australia already had an existing industry of ISPs that were already buying last mile access from someone else. The NBN was just a continuation of the existing status quo in that regard.

> They even have a grey fibre box that looks identical to the NBNCo box except it's labelled LBNCo with the same font

Early in my career I worked for one of those smaller telcos trying to race to get services into buildings before the NBN. I left around the time they were talking about introducing an LBNCo brand (only one of the reasons I left). At the time, they weren't part of Opticomm, but did partner with them in a few locations. If the brand is still around, I guess they must have been acquired at some point.

[jiggawatts]

I heard from several sources that what they do is give the apartment builder a paper bag of cash in exchange for the right to use their wires instead of the NBN. Then they gouge the users with higher monthly fees.

[dbaggerman]

When I was there NBNCo hadn't really moved into the inner city yet. We did have some kind of financial agreement with the building developer/management to install our VDSL DSLAMs in their comms room. It wouldn't surprise me if those payments got shadier and more aggressive as the NBN coverage increased.