National Broadband Network

26 May 2010

The Federal Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy yesterday announced, in a parliamentary estimates hearing, that there would be a six-month postponement of the official start to the Fibre Deployment Bill, which requires developers to install optical fibre rather than copper phone lines in ”greenfield” estates. The start date is now proposed as 1 January 2011, rather than July.

In March Telstra announced it would no longer install copper lines in new estates. We have been expressing our strong concerns to government about the consequences of this decision.

Yesterday, in the estimates hearing, Senator Conroy said that: ”We are not going to allow a situation where no trenching is put in place.” Subsequent to his evidence, the Minister’s office has confirmed that the government was ”concerned about Telstra’s statement, that it may only supply wireless services in some new developments”. The Minister’s office says the government was discussing the problem with Telstra and seeking advice on whether mobiles met its universal service obligation standards.

Transcript of the evidence at the estimates hearing (of 25 May 2010) is not yet available. When it is available (likely to be in the next 24 hours) it will be available here.

A media report on the parliamentary hearing is available here.