Despite calls for an extension to the July deadline for proposals to build the national fibre-to-the-node broadband network, Broadband Minister Stephen Conroy is determined to stick to his schedule.
In preparation for its fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) rollout, the Federal Labor government is resuming its campaign to change legislation to allow it to access the AU$2 billion regional and rural Communications Fund, which the government claims is needed to bankroll part of the network's construction.
The Northern Territory government has bitterly complained about a lack of competition in the telecommunications market that it claims has led to it paying Telstra three to five times more for some communications services than the rest of the nation.
Federal Communications Minister Stephen Conroy will be introducing legislation in Parliament today to ensure that Australia's big telecommunications players hand over information about their infrastructure to the Labor government ahead of its planned national FTTN rollout.
The Liberals have stepped up their campaign against Labor's proposed use of the Communications Fund to finance its fibre-to-the-node network, accusing the government of a "smash and grab raid" on the future of Australia's infrastructure.
With the OPEL bid cancelled and procedural questions dogging the FTTN bid, Australia is currently in something of a technological limbo.
It has been a busy year in telecoms, whether because of the increasingly bitter relationship between Telstra and the government; the awarding of the contentious but (finally) progressive broadband contract to OPEL; the pivotal election that led to a change of government; or the move of 3G mobile technology into the mainstream at last.
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