Australian opposition plans to scrap broadband network

Australia’s opposition has pledged to scrap an ambitious national broadband network in favour of a cheaper patchwork of services, but the move was quickly condemned by critics.

The opposition coalition said if elected this month, it would replace the government’s 43 billion dollar ($39.4 billion) fibre optic network with a 6.3 billion “backbone” to be used by competing telecom firms. “We make no apology for not spending 43 billion dollars of taxpayers’ money running fibre down every street,” said shadow communications minister Tony Smith.

The new plan involves spending two billion Australian dollars on fixed wireless networks across the huge country and another 750 million dollars to allow homes to receive high-speed internet. Other homes would receive the Net via fixed lines or by satellite, connecting 97 per cent of homes by 2017 with a minimum speed of 12 megabits per second.

The plan would replace the government’s initiative to wire 93 per cent of homes with high-speed fibre optic cable capable of up to 100 megabits per second.

Singapore-owned Optus, Australia’s second-largest telco, said there was a fundamental and philosophical difference between the coalition and Labour plans.