Australia’s government has called for the release of frequencies in the 3.5 GHz band to plug a spectrum gap for its National Broadband Network (NBN).
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull said NBN will pay a market rate for the spectrum to be made…
Australia’s government has called for the release of frequencies in the 3.5 GHz band to plug a spectrum gap for its National Broadband Network (NBN).
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull said NBN will pay a market rate for the spectrum to be made available before next April, enabling it to reach around 80,000 homes and businesses that a review in May found it did not have the capacity for.
“If enacted, the [telecoms regulator] ACMA would be required to complete, by 30 April 2015, all steps necessary to enable apparatus licences of a type appropriate for use for the NBN to be issued in the 3.5 GHz band,” said Turnbull.
It has a launched a consultation on the proposed government direction, with a deadline of 22 September 2014 for submissions.
NBN’s US$19bn plan to expand high-speed broadband access to all Australians by 2019 will see it provide services to 93% of the population through fibre, while the rest will be served by either fixed wireless or satellite technology.
However, the project has been plagued by delays and cost overruns that are the source of much political contention in the country.
Its review in May warned that roughly 200,000 premises in its non-fixed line footprint may not be served with faster broadband.
NBN at the time suggested either expanding its fixed wireless rollout in this footprint to solve the issue, or acquiring capacity on a third satellite. It also revealed a delay for its two existing Ka-band satellites, which will now not be launched before early 2016, as opposed to late 2015 as initially planned.
