Tech Stream

National Broadband Networks

7 April 2009

Australia’s Prime Minister Kevid Rudd this morning announced that the government plans to build a $US30 billion national broadband communications network.

Technology commentators and journalists had been expecting the government to announce the winner of the ongoing tender process for the NBN (national broadband network), but that has now been scrapped, as it seems that no-one from the private sector was deemed suitable to construct it.  Three bidders that most thought were in with a chance were Acacia, Singapore-owned Optus and Canadian group Axia.

But now the Australian government will build the high speed fibre-optic network itself ,with help from the private sector, and then sell it within a five year period.   The announcement today also means that the country’s largest telecommunications company, Telstra, can now be included in the new rollout (they had initially bowed out of the previous tender process).   Construction was to begin at the end of last year and it now seems unlikely to begin until early 2010.

It is an ambitious plan that could transform Australia’s telecommunications landscape. Radio Australia News reports that the system will provide broadband connections up to 100 times faster than the links most people use now (which lag behind many countries):

“This new superfast national broadband network is the single largest nation-building project in Australia’s history,” the prime minister said.  “It is the most ambitious, far-reaching and long-term nation-building infrastructure project ever undertaken by an Australian government.”

ABC News online reports that the project will create “25,000 jobs a year during construction, with 37,000 in the busiest year of construction.” You can watch video of Kevin Rudd unveiling their broadband plans on ABC online which is covering the story.

In related news on Singapore announced plans on Friday for a next generation high speed broadband network to be operated by StarHub. It will create a new company (Nucleus Connect) to provide wholesale broadband to the country’s retail telcos.  Channel News Asia reported that:

“The Singapore government will provide a grant of up to S$250 million to Nucleus Connect for the project. Together with the grant of up to S$750 million for the Next-Gen NBN Network Company, OpenNet, the government is investing up to a total of S$1 billion to put in place the Next-Gen NBN.”