Government claims 38 percent shortfall in Opel wireless coverage

Stuart Corner
Wednesday, 02 April 2008 12:27

Opinion and Analysis

However, according to Optus the issue is not disagreement over the claimed performance of its technology, but over the customers it is supposed to serve. Optus CEO, Paul O'Sullivan said: "Our implementation plan showed, based on detailed field testing, that the Opel network would have delivered broadband coverage to almost 900,000 underserved households in rural and remote Australia – 70 per cent more than the Department had assessed. In our view, the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy has now made a flawed recommendation to the Minister – reflecting serious errors in its database of 'underserved premises' which led it to underestimate the number of underserved premises which would benefit.

If the department can't get a fundamental parameter like this correct then something is seriously wrong. O'Sullivan added: "We believe the Department's process was flawed: information was not provided to Opel in accordance with its contract, and there was little dialogue with Opel after it lodged the Implementation Plan in early January... "Three successive written requests from Opel to meet with the Departmental Secretary were ignored."

That's not quite what the minister appears to be claiming. He was quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald on 28 March saying: "There has been still, as late as last week, letters passing backwards and forwards between the department and Opel."

O'Sullivan has proposed an independent assessment, saying "Optus has made an offer to the Government which I repeat publicly today: we are quite happy to have a respected independent expert audit Opel's coverage database and the Department's coverage database. We believe this would confirm that our claimed coverage accurately reflects the definitions in the Department's Guidelines issued in September 2006, and delivers within the agreed 90 percent tolerance levels upon the coverage we committed to provide in our winning bid. We call on the Government to take up this offer of independent expert advice and reconsider its decision."

Given that the current government, when in opposition, was very vocal in its criticism of the Opel contract, such an independent assessment would be warranted. Even if the government's decision is fair, it must be seen to be fair. But the government also seems to the claiming that it has created the conditions that have enable it to cancel the contract. CONTINUED