[Infowarrior] - OZ New National Broadband Network

[Richard Forno]

http://www.pm.gov.au/media/Release/2009/media_release_0903.cfm

Media Release
New National Broadband Network

07 April 2009

The Rudd Government today announced the establishment of a new company  
to build and operate a new super fast National Broadband Network.

This new super fast National Broadband Network, built in partnership  
with private sector, will be the single largest nation building  
infrastructure project in Australian history.

This new National Broadband Network will:

     * Connect 90 percent of all Australian homes, schools and  
workplaces with broadband services with speeds up to 100 megabits per  
second - 100 times faster than those currently used by many households  
and businesses
     * Connect all other premises in Australia with next generation  
wireless and satellite technologies that will be deliver broadband  
speeds of 12 megabits per second
     * Directly support up to 25,000 local jobs every year, on  
average, over the 8 year life of the project

Under the Rudd Government’s new national broadband network every  
house, school and business in Australia will get access to affordable  
fast broadband.


OWNERSHIP AND FINANCING

The Rudd Government’s National Broadband Network will be built and  
operated by a new company specifically established by the Australian  
Government to carry out this project.

The Government will be the majority shareholder of this company, but  
significant private sector investment in the company is anticipated.

The Government will make an initial investment in this company but  
intends to sell down its interest in the company within 5 years after  
the network is built and fully operational, consistent with market  
conditions, and national and identity security considerations.

This company jointly owned by the Government and the private sector  
will invest up to $43 billion over 8 years to build the national  
broadband network.

The Government’s investment in the company will be funded through the  
Building Australia Fund and the issuance of Aussie Infrastructure  
Bonds (AIBs), which will provide an opportunity for households and  
institutions to invest in the national broadband network.

The new investment is also the biggest reform in telecommunications in  
two decades because it delivers separation between the infrastructure  
provider and retail service providers. This means better and fairer  
infrastructure access for service providers, greater retail  
competition, and better services for families and businesses.

This announcement follows the Government’s decision to terminate the  
NBN Request for Proposals (RFP) process on the basis of advice from  
the independent Panel of Experts that none of the national proposals  
offered value for money. The Panel noted the rapid deterioration of  
the global economy had a significant impact on the process.

This historic nation-building investment will help transform the  
Australian economy and create the jobs and businesses of the 21st  
century.


SPECIFICATIONS

The new superfast network will:

     * connect homes, schools and workplaces with optical fibre (fibre  
to the premise or ‘FTTP’), providing broadband services to Australians  
in urban and regional towns with speeds of 100 megabits per second -  
100 times faster than those currently used by most people – extending  
to towns with a population of around 1,000 or more people
     * use next generation wireless and satellite technologies that  
will be able to deliver 12 megabits per second or more to people  
living in more remote parts of rural Australia
     * provide fibre optic transmission links connecting cities, major  
regional centres and rural towns
     * be Australia’s first national wholesale-only, open access  
broadband network
     * be built and operated on a commercial basis by a company  
established at arm’s length from Government and involve private sector  
investment
     * be expected to be rolled-out, simultaneously, in metropolitan,  
regional, and rural areas.

Every person and business in Australia, no-matter where they are  
located, will have access to affordable, fast broadband at their  
fingertips.

High speed broadband is increasingly essential to the way Australians  
communicate, and do business. It will help drive Australia’s  
productivity, improve education and health service delivery and  
connect our big cities and regional centres.

The Government will invest in this major nation-building  
infrastructure to stimulate jobs in the short-term and pay a dividend  
to the Australian people through enhanced productivity and innovation  
in the long-term.

This is a major nation-building project that will support 25,000 every  
year, on average, over the life of the project. At its peak, it will  
support 37,000 jobs. Given the productivity gains associated with this  
investment, the full benefits will continue to flow for decades beyond  
the completion of the project.

The Government’s announcement today has been informed by expert  
advice. The Panel of Experts has encouraged the Government to invest  
in optical fibre technology, supplemented by next-generation wireless  
and satellite technologies. The Australian Competition and Consumer  
Commission has also endorsed the use of FTTP as a superior technology  
to Fibre to the Node.

The preliminary estimate is that the enhanced NBN network will cost up  
to $43 billion, which has been developed taking into account advice  
from specialist technical advisers.

The Government’s objective is to achieve 90 per cent coverage of the  
FTTP network, and remaining coverage to be delivered through wireless  
and satellite technologies, within this funding envelope. Initial  
advice to the Government is that this objective is achievable, but  
this estimate will be subject to an implementation study.

The Government will seek private investment in the company to draw on  
private sector capacity and expertise. However, ownership restrictions  
will be established to protect the Government’s objective of a  
wholesale open-access network.


PLAN OF ACTION

To turn its vision into action the Government will immediately:

     * Commence an implementation study to determine the operating  
arrangements, detailed network design, ways to attract private sector  
investment – for roll-out early 2010, and ways to provide procurement  
opportunities for local businesses
     * Fast-track negotiations with the Tasmanian Government, as  
recommended by the Panel of Experts, to build upon its NBN proposal to  
begin the rollout a FTTP network and next generation wireless services  
in Tasmania as early as July – an immediate start on a nation-wide  
investment.
     * Implement measures to address ‘black spots’ through the timely  
rollout of fibre optic transmission links connecting cities, major  
regional centres and rural towns - delivering improvements to  
telecommunication services in the short term.
     * Progress legislative changes that will govern the national  
broadband network company and facilitate the rollout of fibre  
networks, including requiring greenfields developments to use FTTP  
technology from 1 July 2010.
     * Make an initial investment in the network of $4.7 billion.
     * Commence a consultative process on necessary changes to the  
existing telecommunications regulatory regime.

The initiative announced today is a historic nation-building  
investment focused on Australia’s long-term national interest. It will  
fundamentally transform the competitive dynamics of the  
telecommunications sector, underpin future productivity growth and our  
international competitiveness.