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1:30pm release for implementation study

The office of Communications Minister Stephen Conroy will release today the contents of the controversial National Broadband Implementation study to the Canberra press gallery in a briefing before making them generally available at 1:30pm.
Written by Renai LeMay, Contributor

The office of Communications Minister Stephen Conroy will release today the contents of the controversial National Broadband Implementation study to the Canberra press gallery in a briefing before making them generally available at 1:30pm.

According to an email invite to the event the briefing will be run by McKinsey partner Angus Dawson, the lead advisor on the report. Invited press will receive a briefing about the report, as well as having time to read it and quiz the powers that be in a question and answer session. The event will be held in Parliament House's Main Committee Room.

"No cameras, recording devices or mobiles phones will be permitted in this briefing and reporting will be embargoed until 1:30pm. Laptops will be allowed in but you are asked not to bring wireless cards or to disable remote wireless," the invite states. "Reporting of the implementation study is embargoed until 1:30pm."

The minister has been promising to release the report for six weeks, but only this week confirmed that the report's release was imminent.

According to its original brief, the implementation study — which runs to 500 pages — will determine the operating arrangements for the NBN Company, as well as detailing network design and financial details — for example, attracting private sector investment. It was put together by consulting firms KPMG and McKinsey.

However, since NBN Co chief executive Mike Quigley came on board last year, the company has already taken action on a number of fronts, which the tender documents mentioned would be covered by the implementation study — such as key decisions on network design. The NBN Co has also kick-started various procurement processes associated with the NBN build-out.

Greens Senator Scott Ludlam had threatened to pull the party's support for the Federal Government's controversial telecommunications reform legislation due to Stephen Conroy's decision to not yet release the National Broadband Implementation study during the last Senate sitting.

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