SmartNet is intended to improve telecommunications broadband services in Queensland by using aggregated government demand to encourage investment in the state. A total of 22 Queensland government agencies have acknowledged their support of the SmartNet procurement process, and Optus will make a significant infrastructure investment in the state in return for that expenditure commitment.
The five-year agreement will see Optus build fibre networks in Cairns, Townsville and Rockhampton, and xDSL infrastructure in 30 regional towns.
"The proposed infrastructure will lead to lower priced broadband services to many regional and rural communities, generate a number of jobs by introducing local resale of Optus' broadband services and create a new range of higher bandwidth services currently unavailable to many regional and rural areas," said Optus chief executive officer Chris Anderson.
"Optus has previously partnered with the government on a number of initiatives, including the Brisbane to Cairns Reef Network and has plans to build up to 80 additional mobile base stations in regional areas. Under SmartNet Optus will be in a position to bring further competition in telecommunications to Queensland in a cost-efficient and cost-effective way," said Anderson.
