Stuart Corner
Tuesday, 20 March 2007 12:01
IT Policy -
Regulation
Page 1 of 2
The Government has scrapped its original plan that funding under the $162.5 million Broadband Guarantee scheme would be available primarily only to the first ISP willing to rollout new infrastructure in any particular area: now providers registered under current schemes will be eligible for registration under the new scheme.
The backdown follows a storm of protest from ISPs offering services under the current subsidy schemes who had claimed that they had made investments in infrastructure for which they would be unable to obtain an economic return once the current subsidy scheme ends.
Their protests were precipitated by the government announcing that the funding pot under the previous scheme was empty. As a stop gap measure the Government subsequently agreed to provide an extra$20 million of funding under the previous scheme.
In a statement announcing the changes to the Broadband Guarantee scheme, communications minister senator Helen Coonan, said: "Current eligible Broadband Connect and/or Metropolitan Broadband Connect [the metro broadband black spots programme] registered providers who are able to rapidly connect customers to new broadband infrastructure, will be offered fast-track interim registration under the new program...Registered broadband providers in regional areas who have recently installed new infrastructure as part of the Broadband Connect subsidy program, and who may not have had a reasonable opportunity to recoup a portion of the costs, will be entitled to claim subsidies for connecting new customers under the Australian Broadband Guarantee.
"The transitional arrangements will also allow existing Metropolitan Broadband Connect providers to roll-over their existing service areas into the Australian Broadband Guarantee and for registered providers to expand into new metropolitan and outer metropolitan service areas from 2 April 2007."
