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BRISBANE - Other countries are moving towards a national rollout of broadband technology much faster and with more vision than Australia, Telstra chief executive Sol Trujillo said today.
Speaking to journalists outside a health conference in Brisbane today, Mr Trujillo said that Australia should make broadband access a national goal.
"Broadband is critical for all Australians," he said.
"I think a national goal should be one where all Australians have access to the best of education, the best of health care, the best of everything, and it can be a possible goal with the right infrastructure and the right vision for the future."
But Mr Trujillo was unsure whether it was possible that broadband could be rolled out to 98 per cent of the population, in line with the plans outlined by the federal opposition.
Labor has proposed spending A$4.7 billion ($5.49 billion) in public funds on a fibre-to-the-node broadband network capable of reaching 98 per cent of Australians.
"From a commercial standpoint - we put together a plan two years ago when I first got here, which would reach 96 per cent of the population with fibre, which was a grand plan for Australia," he said.
"It was rejected.
"But there are ways to take it to the vast majority of Australians, and I think it should be a goal, a national goal, because all economies around the world are moving this way.
"Except they are moving this way much faster, more aggressively and with a lot more vision."
Mr Trujillo said Telstra had not yet drawn up a submission to the government committee working on guidelines for the broadband rollout.
The government, which favours private-sector investment, two weeks ago released draft guidelines for companies hoping to win the right to build a high-speed broadband network for Australia's capital cities and regional centres.
It also recently awarded a A$1 billion contract to a joint venture led by Optus to provide high-speed broadband in country areas.
- AAP
