
Cornered! is a blog devoted, most of the time anyway, to telecommunications: local and global issues, technology, people and trends from the perspective of someone who's been reporting, analysing and commenting on the industry since the dark ages (BC - before competition). Sometimes serious, sometimes flippant, sometimes frivolous. Controversial, analytical, informative, amusing, but never boring; a vehicle for examinations of important issues and observations on my encounters and experiences in an industry where polarised views and hyperbole are the norm.
Blog
Technology news and Jobs
Cornered!
Government funding for FTTH? No way says Coonan
Cornered!
Government funding for FTTH? No way says Coonan | Government funding for FTTH? No way says Coonan |
|
| by Stuart Corner | |
| Friday, 12 October 2007 | |
|
Page 1 of 2 The FR was quite unambiguous on the significance of Coonan's comments. "....Coonan said the Federal Government would consider using taxpayers' money to fund high speed broadband rollout if it received a more comprehensive plan than those furnished by Telstra and the Optus-led consortium. Senator Coonan told the [FR] that the Federal Government had not ruled out the prospect of using public funds to partially bankroll such a project if it could deliver faster Internet directly into people's homes and not just to a neighbourhood portal. 'If that [a recommendation for government funding] comes from the expert taskforce process, we would consider the recommendation very carefully,' senator Coonan said." That story headed up page 3 in the paper. So if it was wrong one might have expected it to produce an immediate response from the minister. It certainly galvanised Telstra which wrote the minister the same day and posted its letter on its Nowwearetalking web site. Telstra, not unreasonably, feared a repetition of the Opel saga where $600 million of Government funding became almost $1 billion without Telstra, or any other bidder, being given a fair go at saying how it would spend that extra $350 million to bring broadband to rural Australians. Telstra wanted clarity and certainty on any future project. |
| < Next story in category | Previous story in the category > |
|---|







