80/07

Monday 18 June 2007

Australia Connected: Fast affordable broadband for all Australians

“Fast affordable broadband access will become a reality for all Australians under a landmark funding and legislative initiative announced by the Australian Government called Australia Connected,” the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator the Hon Helen Coonan said today.

“The Australian Government will ensure 99 per cent of the population has access to fast affordable broadband by June 2009,” Senator Coonan said.

“ Australia has now entered into a whole new broadband era with speeds 20 to 40 times faster than those used by most consumers today, with the first Australia Connected broadband network services to be switched on immediately,” Senator Coonan said.

“Australia Connected will provide 12 megabit per second broadband services to quite literally thousands of rural and regional communities including icon townships such as Birdsville, Bedourie and Windorah and builds on the Government’s success to date that has seen more than 4.3 million homes and small businesses connected to broadband across Australia,” Senator Coonan said.

“The centrepiece of Australia Connected is the immediate rollout of a new, independent, competitive and state of the art national broadband network that will extend high speed services out to 99 per cent of the population and provide speeds of 12 megabits per second by mid 2009.

“Beyond 2009, this new scaleable national network will have the capacity to provide vastly increased speeds as Australia’s demand for bandwidth grows, with funding already assured from the ongoing income stream provided by the Government’s $2 billion Communications Fund.

“This ongoing income stream is a critical ‘insurance policy’ for regional and rural Australians to ensure they are not left behind as telecommunications technology blasts into the Twenty-First Century.

“To this end, the Government announces today that it will move quickly to protect this ongoing income stream with legislation in the next sitting period to ensure the Communications Fund’s $2 billion capital amount cannot be squandered, thereby ensuring future generations of regional and rural consumers have access to affordable and metro-comparable broadband services,” Senator Coonan said.

“In parallel with the deployment of this new network, the Government also announces a new commercial fibre optic rollout via a competitive bids process and subsequent enabling legislation.

“With two commercial proposals already on the table to build an optic fibre network, there will be no delay in getting this underway so we can have an outcome as soon as possible. Once deployed, speeds will jump even higher to between 20–50 megabits per second under a new fibre network.

“Australia Connected maximises commercial investment and uses the very best mix of scaleable broadband technologies to deliver a new high speed network for all Australians regardless of where they live, without Labor’s $4.7 billion taxpayer price tag.”

Australia Connected is a comprehensive and complete broadband solution for Australia that involves:

• A new national high speed wholesale network : The awarding of a $600 million competitive grant will deliver a mix of fibre optic, ADSL2+ and wireless broadband platforms to rural and regional areas. This rollout has been boosted with an additional $358 million in funding to ensure coverage to 99 per cent of the population;
• A new commercial fibre optic network : Facilitating a fibre network build in cities and larger regional centres via a competitive bids process and subsequent enabling legislation;
• Australian Broadband Guarantee : A safety net that ensures Australians living in the most remote or difficult to reach areas (the remaining one per cent) are entitled to a broadband subsidy of $2750 per household;
• Creation of BroadbandNow: A new one-stop consumer help centre with telephone and web information to assist consumers understand the technology options available to them and provide ready information about how to get connected; and the
• Preservation of the $2 billion Communications Fund : To ensure the funds are protected in perpetuity by legislation for the benefit of regional and rural Australians and to provide for an income stream for future upgrades.

“Australia Connected demonstrates the Government’s commitment to ensuring fast affordable broadband services for all Australians, regardless of where they live,” Senator Coonan said.

“This is not only world class - to reach almost 100 per cent coverage at such high speeds for a country of our size and population spread, and to deliver service to the country at metro-comparable prices - it is a world first,” Senator Coonan said.

A new national high speed wholesale network

The new national high speed network will be rolled out by OPEL, a joint venture between Optus and rural group Elders, which has been awarded a total of $958 million in funding from the Broadband Connect infrastructure program, and an additional funding allocation. OPEL has agreed to make its own commercial contribution of over $900 million to significantly upscale this new network.

“This new high speed wholesale broadband network is fully costed and will be built immediately,” Senator Coonan said.

“It is an outstanding outcome as the OPEL bid deploys innovative new fixed wireless technologies alongside well-known services such as ADSL2+.”

“Australia Connected is not a future plan but a plan for the future and rollout of the new network will start immediately.

“OPEL will use a new 12 Mbps state of the art wireless (WiMAX) technology ensuring that regional Australia gets a network that will be world’s best practice. WiMAX is a high quality wireless broadband standard that is purpose built for supplying very fast speeds over long distances and is specifically designed for optimum broadband performance.

“In addition to WiMAX, a further 426 exchanges, representing more than three million premises, will be enabled with very fast ADSL2+ broadband for the first time. The switch on of the 426 exchanges to ADSL2+ will commence immediately across 426 outer metropolitan, regional and rural areas,” Senator Coonan said.

Affordability

“Retail prices for both the new WiMAX and ADSL2+ broadband services will range from $35 to $60 per month, depending on the speed selected by the consumer. This demonstrates that we have met our commitment to ensure affordability and metro comparable pricing for all Australians regardless of where they live,” Senator Coonan said.

Backhaul

“The new OPEL network also includes 15,000 kilometres of fibre optic backhaul to extend the broadband highways that link rural areas back to major city centres. It includes additional Bass Strait capacity and better wholesale arrangements across regional Australia and it will also reduce existing regional backhaul prices by 30 per cent.”

A new commercial fibre optic network

The Government will also conduct an open and competitive bids process and legislate to enable a new high speed broadband network for built-up areas, without the need for taxpayer funding.

Senator Coonan said the Government’s decision to proceed with a competitive bids process reflected the enhanced interest of commercial players that had recently become evident.

“The issues are well known and the Government will be proceeding expeditiously to allow a decision to be taken on who will build the new high speed fibre network,” Senator Coonan said.

“To facilitate this process, the Government will establish an Expert Taskforce to ensure an open and transparent process for assessment of bids to build a fibre-to-the-node network.

“Following an open and transparent examination, the Government will legislate to ensure the nation is getting a top class service which is affordable and complements other aspects of Australia Connected.

Expert Taskforce

“The guidelines for the competitive bids process will be developed by the Expert Taskforce in consultation with industry. The Taskforce will also settle a realistic timetable for the bids to be submitted and assessed,” Senator Coonan said.

“In order to expedite the plan, the competitive bids process will start immediately and the Expert Taskforce will be formed straight away.

“I make no apology for an ambitious timetable and I am encouraged by the level of interest shown by a number of commercial players to build a fibre optic network for Australia.”

The Expert Taskforce will be chaired by Patricia Scott, Secretary of DCITA with other members including: Treasury Secretary Dr Ken Henry; PM&C Deputy Secretary Jenny Goddard; telecommunications regulatory expert Tony Shaw; Australian Competition Tribunal member Rod Shogren; ACCC executive Joe Dimasi; and business leaders Len Bleasel AM and Dick Warburton AO.

Australian Broadband Guarantee

Senator Coonan said the Australian Broadband Guarantee will ensure the remaining one per cent of Australians are not left behind with a guaranteed entitlement to a per customer subsidy of up to $2750 to ensure remote broadband access where an alternative service is not available .

BroadbandNow

“In addition to these measures, the Government also announces that the new BroadbandNow one-stop shop will be in operation from 1 July and will be a ready resource to assist consumers by making technology simpler and ensuring easy access to the best solution for families and small business operators,” Senator Coonan said.

Communications Fund - Future proofing rural telecommunications

“Taxpayer funds should to be used to deliver equity in underserved areas and ensure regional and rural Australians are not left behind in the ongoing telecommunications technology revolution,” Senator Coonan said.

“The Communications Fund was established by the Government in 2005 and provides a guaranteed income stream to fund hard infrastructure for regional communities such as additional mobile towers, broadband provision and even backhaul fibre capabilities.

“The guaranteed income stream from the Fund is projected to reach approximately $400 million every three years and can only be spent implementing the recommendations of the independent Regional Telecommunications Review Committee.

“This Review is critical to ensure service parity between metropolitan, and rural and regional Australia and the Government will shortly announce the formation of the next independent Committee with the inquiry to get underway this year,” Senator Coonan said.

“Despite the huge and recurring benefits that the Communications Fund will deliver, Labor wants to drain the Communications Fund, deprive regional and rural Australians and waste it on a network that the private sector has stated loud and clear it will fund itself.

“This is why the Government will legislate without delay to protect the funds for future generations of rural and regional Australians,” Senator Coonan said.

“Only the Howard Government is committed to ensuring that regional and rural Australians are not left behind and will legislate to preserve the Communications Fund to perpetuity.

“Unlike Labor’s poorly detailed and economically risk plan, this new super fast national network is fully costed, Australia-wide and will reach many Australian homes and small businesses within a matter of months,” Senator Coonan said.

“Labor’s plan is five years away and Australians simply can’t afford to wait this long.

“Not only is our plan a better use of taxpayer funds than Labor’s $4.7 billion ‘city centric’ network, the Government’s broadband rollout starts now with speeds between 12 – 50 megabits per second on offer.

“I have always maintained Australia must have a new high speed broadband network and that it was always a question of ‘when’ and not ‘if’,” Senator Coonan said.

“But, unlike Labor, I am not prepared to throw sound economic management out the window and waste nearly $5 billion of taxpayer funds for a network that commercial players are already prepared to deliver.

“I am confident that the Government has got the balance right and that this new network will be an enormous productivity boost across Australia,” Senator Coonan said.

“I look forward to flicking the fast broadband switch in the coming months and welcoming the advent of a new, world class network for all Australians regardless of where they live,” Senator Coonan said.

**VNR feed of Australia Connected overlay footage will be available for all metropolitan and regional television stations (Optus B1 Transponder 15 SLOT6) at 1030 AEST, 18 June 2007. All inquiries 7BCM Contact: Master Control +61 3 9697 7948.**

• Broadband Connect fact sheet (PDF, File size: 117Kb)
• Australian Broadband Guarantee fact sheet (PDF, File size: 40Kb)
• BroadbandNow fact sheet (PDF, File size: 47Kb)
• Commercial Fibre Broadband Network fact sheet (PDF, File size: 251Kb)
• WiMax fact sheet (PDF, File size: 109Kb)
• OPEL Network fact sheet (PDF, File size: 147Kb)
• Broadband glossary (PDF, File size: 137Kb)

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