FTTN: decide in haste, regret at leisure, says CCC

Stuart Corner
Saturday, 07 July 2007 06:28

IT Policy - Regulation

The terms of reference make it clear that all options are on the table for what has almost universally referred to as an FTTN network for metro and regional Australia. The expert taskforce "will be responsible for the development and management of the assessment process for new commercial open access high speed broadband network infrastructure in metropolitan Australia and major regional centres."

The taskforce will provide the minister for communications, information technology and the arts with a set of proposed guidelines and specifications for the assessment process.

The taskforce will be required to propose
- price and non-price terms and conditions for access and interconnection and the mechanism to vary prices over the life of the investment; the timetable for network rollout; minimum service standards; scalability; coverage; capacity; speeds; and other characteristics to meet current and future needs.

One the minister ha approved its initial proposed guidelines the taskforce will be required to consult publicly before submitting its final proposed guidelines to the minister. When these have been approved by the minister, the taskforce will be responsible for issuing the guidelines, inviting proposals and conducting the assessment process, including "assessing proposals and negotiating with proponents as required, to maximise outcomes consistent with Government's objectives." It will then be required to make recommendations to the minister on the proposals received.