Minister set to bring telcos up to speed

Steven Joyce

The telco industry will today get an update on Government plans to roll out a billion-dollar, high-speed broadband network.

A spokeswoman for the Minister for Communications and Information Technology Steven Joyce said his speech at the annual Tel.Con conference would address some of the themes that came out of submissions on the Government's broadband plan, but would not include any major policy announcements.

The Government had more than 100 submissions on its plan to spend up to $1.5 billion over the next 10 years - matched by private-sector investment - running fibre to the doorsteps of schools, hospitals, businesses and eventually homes.

Joyce's spokeswoman said a report back to Cabinet on the submissions and implementation details was due "in the next few weeks" - a month after the original timeline indicated.

She blamed the delay on the large number and detailed nature of submissions received.

"I think it's too early to assume that this will push out the whole time frame - it may be that time can be made up down the track."

Telecom's response to the Government plan was to offer two alternatives: a national network of ducts available to all operators deploying fibre or extending its current fibre roll-out.

Telecom said both proposals would focus on connecting 2000 schools and all hospitals to the fibre network within two years of work starting, with the remaining 600 schools connected six months later.

While Vodafone initially threw support behind the Government plan, it too came up with its own version of how the broadband spend-up should progress. It suggested telcos and infrastructure companies club together to invest in a single, ultra-fast broadband network.

Lines companies and local fibre operators, including Vector, Northpower and WEL Networks, have joined forces to form the Regional Fibre Group to support the Government plan.

With expertise in running open-access electricity and broadband networks, they see themselves as well placed to run fibre to New Zealand homes and businesses.

In Britain last week the Government announced a proposal to add a 50p ($1.28) surcharge per month to all landlines to help pay for high-speed broadband for what it describes as the "final third" - the share of the market which won't be targeted by commercial deployment of next generation networks.

The British Government will establish a fund with the broadband tax that can be dipped into by telcos to subsidise the deployment of high-speed broadband networks. It has already committed to the universal availability of broadband at minimum speeds of 2 megabits per second by 2012.

The "broadband for all" will be deployed over the existing copper network in conjunction with wireless and satellite technology funded by £200 million ($511 million) of Government money and investment from private partners and other public sector organisations.

FIBRE FUTURE

* Next week, the Government will detail its high-speed fibre network plans.
* Appointments made to the Crown-owned investment company, Crown Fibre Investment (CFIC), handling the $1.5 billion Government investment.
* In August, CFIC asks for private sector interest in partnerships to build regional fibre-to-the-home networks.
* Early 2010, the first of the private-public partnerships will be announced.