Is OPEL overbuild good for Aussie broadband?

Network overbuild between OPEL's planned WiMax deployment and existing broadband networks need not be a bad thing, according to analysts.

"There is some overlap [with OPEL] and some of the regional operators have expressed their concern about that fact," Ovum research director David Kennedy said. He added that the regional ISPs feel they can't compete against the subsidised provider which, as well as having government financial aid, will also have advantages of scale allowing it to set up backhaul operations more efficiently and use its spectrum more effectively.

The competition will not necessarily be a bad thing, however, according to Shara Evans, CEO of broadband analyst Market Clarity: "As a small regional provider one can look at it as a threat or an opportunity."

Evans said that regional providers will be able to use the OPEL network to "supplement services" and reach customers previously out of range.

For broadband users, Evans believes having more than one network is a windfall. "Ultimately the consumers have more choice," she said.

Some consumers continue to have no choice but satellite, however. A new report by Market Clarity, The State of Broadband Infrastructure in Australia, has identified a number of blank spots in terrestrial broadband infrastructure even in regions with high populations, including areas north, south and to the east of Perth.

Whether the OPEL network will be rolled out in the form intended by the previous government is still not set. Kennedy said Federal Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Stephen Conroy, had said little on the subject since the change of government, despite questioning the viability of the plan before the election.

How different the rollout will be to the Howard government's original plans will depend on what was written in the contracts, Kennedy said, speculating that since the government are also committed to a FTTN rollout that it may look into whether OPEL could be better targeted. "It would be consistent with the silence since the election," he added.