Telstra Bid $5B On New Broadband Network

Telstra has submitted a proposal for a new national broadband network however their submission is subject to a number of conditions for the life of the project, including no further separation of Telstra and regulatory certainty.

The national carrier  has said that they will invest $5 Billion dollars in the network however it will only reach 90% of Australians and not reach 98% of the population as specified by the Federal Government.

Telstra has also said that they can start work on building the National Broadband Network (NBN) capable of delivering high-speed access to up to 90% of Australians next year.

The Telstra proposal outlines what would be achieved by the fully detailed bid that Telstra has prepared but could not be submitted due to a number of unresolved issues in the Government’s Request for Proposals (RFP).

Telstra believes the Government can consider its proposal under the existing terms of the RFP  and should agreement be reached on outstanding concerns a possibility exists for more detaileddialogue.

Telstra has made it clear it is willing to engage in discussions with the Government to ensure Australia harnesses the benefits of a high-speed, high-definition world.

Under Telstra’s proposal to build the NBN:
· Telstra would invest up to $5 billion of its own capital.
· The Government would provide $4.7 billion in the form of a concessional loan.
· Up to 90 per cent of the population would be covered.
· The network will be capable of providing downlink speeds between 25 Mbps and 50 Mbps in 65 per cent to 75 per cent of the footprint, with downlink speeds of between 12 Mbps and 20 Mbps in the remainder of the footprint.
· The network would be designed to be upgradeable.
· A wide range of services including IP telephony, high-speed internet, IPTV, videoconferencing
and telemedicine would be supported.
· A $29.95 per month entry level 1Mbps retail  broadband pricing plan (four times faster than the existing plan at the same price) for customers with a Telstra fixed line telephone service would be available.

Under the proposal the rollout would commence as soon as possible across multiple locations in metropolitan and regional Australia and be completed far quicker than any alternative. Telstra’s proposal is pro-competition and would be open access, with wholesale customers buying access services on an equivalent basis to Telstra’s retail units.

Telstra expects the open access rules would be legislated and policed by the Australian Competition and ConsumerCommission. Telstra does not seek any legislative protections against competing infrastructure.

Telstra’s proposal is subject to a number of conditions for the life of the project, including no further separation of Telstra and regulatory certainty.