The Australian government remains hopeful that it can strike a deal with Telstra to reduce the cost of the multi billion dollar national broadband network.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy was quoted by The Australian saying: “We’ve said from day…
The Australian government remains hopeful that it can strike a deal with Telstra to reduce the cost of the multi billion dollar national broadband network.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy was quoted by The Australian saying: “We’ve said from day one… this can be built cheaper and faster if we reach an agreement with Telstra. There’s no question about that… We’ve been in complex, detailed, lengthy discussions for the last four months and the fact that we’re still talking is a good sign.”
With or without Telstra the project would go ahead as it is thought to be viable even without the help of the incumbent operator.
Telstra’s involvement would make the network much more efficient though, not least because the operator already has ducts in the ground that would take some pain out of laying new fibre.
The State of Australia has “formalised terms of engagement” with Telstra Corp regarding its fixed-line network and its integration into the NBN.
However, although a “preferred model” has been agreed, the two have not yet come to a final agreement about how Telstra’s assets will contribute to the A$37bn (US$34bn) NBN project.