As the deadline for bids to build Australia's national broadband network draws closer, the two leading contenders Telstra and the Terria continue to hurl insults as they try to convince the public and the Government why they should be responsible for the project.

Andrew Robinson from ABC's Lateline Business reports on the latest developments in this drawn out process to decide who will build Australia's next generation telecommunications backbone.

One of the commentators, David Kennedy from Ovum, has fallen for the myth that Fibre to the Home on a national scale is uneconomic in this country. He further says this is the case for many other countries; however this is contrary to what is happening with many governments and incumbent carriers now committed to large scale fibre rollouts - see FTTH: what is happening around the world. Kennedy also suggests (as does Telstra and Terria) a Fibre to the Node network will be a stepping stone towards a Fibre to the Home and it will be possible to upgrade it in the future. When will these "experts" learn the practicality and then the economics behind a migration from FTTN to FTTH is far more complex than some of the bidders are letting on.

Video sourced from ABC Online