KEY POINTS:
I've spent an interesting few days in Sydney catching up with some of the developments around Government-funded broadband projects and the private investment these initiatives are attracting.
According to this article, a handful of international telcos may be interested in getting into Australian broadband infrastructure and Deutsche Telecom has expressed interest in operating but not owning a national fibre optic network. That interest comes on top of investment plans put forward by Telstra, Optus and the G9 consortium, which includes Telecom through its AAPT arm.
In other words, investors are falling over themselves to fibre Australia, lured by the billions of public dollars the Australian Government is promising to put into such a scheme.
With big dollars at stake, the broadband infrastructure debate is hotting up across the Tasman, with a war of words in the press accompanying it. Take this opinion piece in The Age penned by Primus Telecommunications boss Ravi Bhatia, who as a G9 consortium member was furious at suggestions that Telstra is the only telco in a position to roll out a national fibre to the node network aimed at improving Australia's broadband performance.
"To most in the industry, the fundamental concern is one large recalcitrant industry player wanting to decimate competition and increase broadband prices by 300 to 500 per cent, thereby transferring $2.5 billion to $3 billion annually to its profits from the wallets of Australian consumers. Such an outcome is unacceptable to the industry, the regulators, the Government and consumers."
He was responding to this piece penned by the telecom's consultant Kevin Morgan who argues that if Telstra's plan for a FTTN network isn't endorsed, it will be to the detriment of Australia.
What is intriguing is the passion with which this broadband debate is being carried out across the Tasman, where there are numerous interested parties. That's in contrast to the situation here in New Zealand where fibre is pretty much a dirty word for all concerned, despite our infrastructure being in a much shabbier state than that of the Australians.
But every one has an opinion on broadband and it would seem that most Aussies feel they're badly done by when it comes to high-speed internet, something I discovered when I attended a press conference held by communications minister Helen Coonan, who was launching the Government-funded website www.australianscreen.com.au.
The website features clips from 563 Australian films and TV programmes which people can view as a video stream or download to their computers. Coonan said that the website went hand in hand with the Government's broadband initiatives, a statement that was met with a collective groan from the audience.
There I was thinking the Aussies had it much better. It seems when it comes to broadband the grass is always greener somewhere else.
