Australia Broadband Debate Heats Up
Tension rose over the privatization of the nation’s planned 43 billion Australian dollar (US$42 billion) national high-speed Internet network, as a Senate debate on competition legislation began.
Australia’s center-left Labor government said it remains “firmly committed” to privatizing the fiber broadband network once it is completed.
The statement followed news from the Greens party Monday that it reached a deal with the government to support laws designed to curb the ability of dominant provider Telstra Corp. to compete with the national network. The Greens support came in exchange for a promise that NBN Co., the newly formed state-owned network operator, won’t be privatized without parliamentary approval.
That raised questions about how the government would recoup some A$26 billion in taxpayer funds expected to be used to build the network, which is designed to deliver high-speed communications to 93 percent of Australian homes.