Chris Pyne, who is chairing the standing committee undertaking the inquiry, said the area of wireless broadband was full of mystery in government circles.
-Most people in government and parliament haven't got the technical knowledge that people in the industry have, and you couldn't expect them to," Pyne said.
According to Pyne, the inquiry would attempt to establish a body of evidence about wireless broadband and its potential. From there the House of Representatives standing committee on communications, IT and the arts would make recommendations to government about how to regulate wireless broadband, and also how to ensure that there's healthy competition.
-We'll look at the benefits and limitations on the development and use of wireless broadband technologies in Australia," Pyne said.
He said one area it would particularly be focussing on was the potential use of wireless broadband to provide a last mile broadband solution in rural and regional areas.
The standing committee will be meeting next Monday to agree on the terms of reference. Pyne said it would then advertise for submissions and hold public hearings. After the information is collated, the committee plans to hand down a report to government by the end of the year.
