Heart FM - Federal Government will today unveil details of a $2 billion broadband package

JONELLE MCKENZIE : After a long wait and frustrating delays for internet users in regional Australia, the Federal Government today will unveil details of a $2 billion broadband package. This is good news, Tony.

TONY BRISCOE: On her way to the launch of the package in Goulburn is the Communications Minister Senator Helen Coonan.

G'day, Helen.

HELEN COONAN: Oh, good morning. How are you both?

TONY BRISCOE: Good.

JONELLE MCKENZIE : Good, thank you.

TONY BRISCOE: And better for hearing this news. Tell us about the news today.

HELEN COONAN: Yes, well, it's very good news for rural and regional Australians. Following an eight month competitive grants process. Today we'll be announcing that there's a joint venture of Elders, that's well-known in regional Australia. And Optus will be rolling out a new national high speed broadband network up to 99 per cent of the population. So it will be universal coverage. Even those who can't get it, which is the remaining one per cent, will still be entitled to a subsidy of $2750 for each council.

JONELLE MCKENZIE : And how will this be delivered into the bush?

HELEN COONAN: Well, basically the techno... it's going to be a mix of technologies of fibre, of enabling ADSL, which is a very fast technology in exchanges and WiMAX technology which is a wireless technology. That is cutting edge, absolutely state of the art fourth generation wireless network that will simply transform the way in which people can access broadband in rural and regional Australia. And the good thing about it is that it will also be provided to rural and regional Australians at metro-comparable prices. There'll be - indicative prices are that it will be about $35 for an entry level up to a very fast speed of about $60. So that's going to be metro-comparable.

This will really be a first in the world where there will be universal coverage at affordable prices.

TONY BRISCOE: Now what makes this plan better than the ALP's plan?

HELEN COONAN: Well, the ALP have a very incomplete one-size-fits-all plan to roll out fibre network. But the most important problem with the ALP plan is that it's going to cost taxpayers $5 billion, whereas our plan is that commercial companies will in fact roll out fibre, so we're also going to have a fibre network roll out, but it's not going to cost the taxpayers $5 billion, it's going to cost them a fraction of $958 million. So that's the main difference.

The second difference is of course Labor have said that you won't get it until 2013. We'll start rolling it out immediately and it will be available by 2009. So Labor have made no commitment on prices at all. And in fact when you look at the problems with fibre, it still has to be connected to copper and when you're in remote or regional Australia, you've got to be within four kilometres of an exchange in order to be able to get it anyway. So that begins to tell you what an incomplete solution it would be for a cost of $5 billion to the taxpayer that won't do the job anyway. And the most needy Australians will simply be left out.

JONELLE MCKENZIE : Can you tell us the details of the special panel which will be announced today?

HELEN COONAN: Yes. It's a five person panel that will be chaired by Patricia Scott who's the secretary of my department. But it will have telecommunications experts on it, regulatory experts. And of course we'll also have a couple of people with significant business experience because we know that building a fibre network in a way that people - or the builders can get a proper return on their investment does mean that you've got to look very critically at how this affects competition, what sort of prices will be available to consumers in the long run. So there's a lot that has to be taken into account in this field. That's why we have thought that an expert panel is the proper way to make sure that we get the very best solution.

TONY BRISCOE: So, they'll act as a sort of a watchdog to make sure the services are delivered and are kept to a certain ongoing standard, Helen?

HELEN COONAN: Their main role is going to be to ensure that the best bid wins. We know that we've got two commercial proposals on the table to build a fibre network in major capital cities and major regional centres. And we - there may well be others. So their job is to assess the best bid. And then the Government will legislate to ensure that it happens.

So it's a very significant package where we're saying, not only are we going to make sure we get the very best bid, but we don't want everybody to be rolling out over the top of each other so we're going to legislate to ensure that the best bid is able to be built then under those circumstances.

JONELLE MCKENZIE : Communications Minister Senator Helen Coonan, some people in regional and rural areas across Australia, the internet is a tool that they may be unfamiliar with and it has been a long wait, there has been frustrating delays, as we've mentioned. What will be in place to assist these people?

HELEN COONAN: Well, yes, I mean, basically that's what we've been doing since 2002 we've been ensuring that people can get connected. As most people listening to you would probably be aware we've had significant subsidies to ensure that under served households and people who are unfamiliar with the internet can be attracted to its benefits. We've had aggregate brokers, people out there ensuring that people sign up to get broadband. That's been our old HiBIS program and broadband connect. It's actually connected over 1.3 million households in rural and regional Australia and in under-served areas where there wouldn't be a commercial service had it not been for the Government's subsidy.

So, we've been onto broadband for a very long time and suggestions that we've just come down in the last shower and woken up to it should be rejected out of hand. You simply can't put in a plan of this scale and scope without at least months and months of preparation and that's what we've been doing.

TONY BRISCOE: Communications Minister Senator Helen Coonan, thank you for your time this morning. Sounds like you've got a busy day.

HELEN COONAN: Thanks very much, guys. Yes it's very busy but I think it's great news for your listeners.

TONY BRISCOE: Thank you kindly, Helen Coonan there.

HELEN COONAN: Thanks, bye.

TONY BRISCOE: It is good news for our listeners in regional Australia, the fact that we will have this broadband roll-out. So you will be able to get high-speed broadband at competitive prices compared to city folk.