The parliament has passed two bills setting out the regulatory framework for the company that will run its national broadband network, NBN Co.
According to a government statement, the relevant legislation passed through the Senate to the House of…
The parliament has passed two bills setting out the regulatory framework for the company that will run its national broadband network, NBN Co.
According to a government statement, the relevant legislation passed through the Senate to the House of Representatives in late March, with amendments to ensure uniform wholesale pricing.
Senator Stephen Conroy, minister for broadband, communications and the digital economy, said: “The bills set out a clear regulatory framework to provide that NBN Co will operate on a wholesale-only, open and equivalent access basis, delivering long-term benefits for competition and consumers.” The National Broadband Network Companies Bill 2010 sets out a regulatory framework for the wholesale-only part of NBN Co.
Meanwhile, the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (National Broadband Network Measures – Access Arrangements) Bill 2011 amends previous competition and telecoms acts to introduce new transparency and nondiscrimination obligations for NBN Co’s wholesale services.
Conroy added that the bills “provide clarity and certainty to industry and the wider community on the future operation” of its network.
The A$36bn (US$37bn) fibre network is expected to provide up to 100 Megabits/second to 93% of homes and businesses, with the remaining premises serviced by a minimum speed of 12 Megabits per second using wireless and satellite technologies.
In a statement released on 17 March, incumbent Telstra said it would delay a shareholder vote on its participation in the country’s national broadband network.
Telstra said talks with NBN Co were “progressing well but the size and complexity of the deal meant that it would not be ready to go to a shareholder vote on July 1 as planned …Work continues to reach final agreement as soon as possible.” Telstra last year signed an A$11bn (US$11.4bn) non-binding agreement with NBN to participate in the project, which necessitates a structural separation.
In a separate report, NBN Co. announced that it has awarded a A$200m contract to IBM for the provision of consulting, operational and business support services.
