18 June 2009
New federal requirements for developers to install fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) needed to better defined, according to the Urban Taskforce.
The Urban Taskforces chief executive, Aaron Gadiel, said the government was planning to require developers to install optic fibre in all large-scale greenfield and apartment developments from 1 July next year.
Developers should only have to fund internal works on a master planned site, Mr Gadiel said.
Were asking the government to clearly say the network provider will pay for any links from the master planned estate to the national broadband network.
Linkage infrastructure and the cost of upstream ˜headworks – such as optical fibre distribution centres – are network costs.
These should be recovered from users of the network at large.
Mr Gadiel said that developers should not have to install optic fibre cable if there was no prospect of the necessary linkage infrastructure being installed.
A key issue is the availability of fibre optic linkage infrastructure at the development site boundary.
A developer shouldnt be compelled to install fibre-to-the-premises unless the necessary linkage infrastructure is already present, or there are concrete plans to guarantee its presence in the immediate future.
A developer wont get any marketing advantage for installing optic fibre, if the new technology cant be used.
Mr Gadiel said that in new residential subdivisions in urban release areas, FTTP should not be required for individual residential lots unless optic fibre infrastructure is or will be available at the subdivision boundary in the near term. Likewise, in the case of a new townhouse or residential flat development within established suburban areas, FTTP should only be required when optic fibre infrastructure is or will be available in the road adjacent to the development site.
Mr Gadiel said that its crucial that the areas mostly likely to see significant urban development in should be prioritised for roll-out of the national broadband network. To achieve maximum take up of new technology, areas where the greatest proportion of new development is planned or occurring should be given priority when the broadband network is built.
The take-up of FTTP in established homes, particularly existing apartments, is going to be much lower than in areas likely to see a rapid growth in new housing.
This means the government should prioritise urban release areas on the fringe of existing metropolitan regions and regions of large-scale urban renewal in the inner suburbs of the major capital cities.
The Urban Taskforce is a property development industry group, representing Australias most prominent property developers and equity financiers.
For every $1 million in construction expenditure, 27 jobs are created throughout the broader economy. The construction activity made possible by property developers contributes $69 billion to the national economy each year and creates 709,000 direct jobs. The construction industry is Australias third largest source of employment.
