James Riley
Wednesday, 07 April 2010 16:22
IT Policy -
Regulation
Page 1 of 3
One year after the Rudd Government's $43 billion National Broadband Network was announced, no customers have been connected to the optical fibre service, the public has no idea how much its superfast services will cost or when they will be delivered.
The legislative reforms that were designed to create a more competitive telecommunications sector have not made it through the Senate. Other legislation that governs the NBN is still in draft form.
Negotiations between Telstra and the National Broadband Network Company have all but stalled – the deadline of the end of last year for their completion having passed long ago.
Taxpayers have not been entrusted with the results of a $25 million implementation study by Governmen's lead advisors KPMG-McKinsey. And there is still no sign of a cost-benefit analysis of the project.
And whole towns in regional Australia still don't know whether the NBN's fibre will be delivered to their homes, or if they will get served by a slower WiFi or satellite service.
And yet, one year on, and Government is still driving the National Broadband Network as hard and as enthusiastically as it did from the start. Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has shown no signs of softening the Government’s position on the Telstra negotiations, and he still has the full backing of the Prime Minister.
And one year on, the Coalition has increased the volume on its opposition to the project. Shadow communications spokesman Tony Smith call the NBN project is "reckless," "ill-judged" and "irresponsible."
"The NBN initiative delivers on and exceeds the Rudd Government's broadband election commitment," Senator Conroy says. "It will transform Australia's broadband infrastructure and ensure that every Australian consumer and businesses has access to affordable high speed broadband services."
