National Broadband Announced
Tuesday, 28 April 2009 11:55
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has revealed the largest public infrastructure projects in Australia's history with the announcement of a final decision for his National Broadband Network.
Rudd's announcement follows a protracted and eventually unsuccessful tendering process which some industry observers have intepreted as being a battle of wills between the Labor government and Telstra. Telstra's controversial chairman, Sol Trujillo, was heavily critical of the plan, and the corporation's curt, vague submission to November's RFP (Request for Proposals) process was widely denounced as being unprofessional.
The Government's plan now is to bypass private telecoms to deliver a Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) network to 90% of Australia's population. A national corporation, backed by a public-private partnership, will be established to oversee the construction and management of the network. Revenue for the plan will be raised by the public sale of government bonds.
The National Broadband Network is projected to create 47,000 jobs and involve as much as $43 billion in expenditure over its eight year lifespan.
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