Telstra welcomes the Prime Minister’s commitment to fast-track much needed infrastructure building in Australia, but high-speed broadband must be the first cab off the rank.
“The National Broadband Network is crucial for Australia’s future economic productivity and it must be fast-tracked or the nation risks falling behind at a critical economic juncture,” Telstra’s Group Managing Director of Public Policy and Communications, David Quilty, said today.
“There is no infrastructure more important to all Australians than the National Broadband Network. It will make businesses across virtually every sector more efficient and productive. It will open up new markets and supply chains for small businesses and help them compete with larger businesses. It will foster innovation and help reverse the “brain drain” from our shores. It will reinvigorate regional communities and provide access to world-class education and health services. It will help tackle climate change and facilitate more energy efficient behaviour by businesses and consumers.
“High-speed broadband is the great enabling technology, a fact personally recognised by Mr Rudd in making his strong commitment to the National Broadband Network.
“Unlike other infrastructure projects which are focussed on a particular location or industry sector, the National Broadband Network is a project which will benefit all Australians and will unleash the nation’s untapped spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship.
“Telstra has been trying to build the National Broadband Network for more than three years, but we have been stymied at every turn by backward-looking regulation, red-tape and bureaucracy.
“Mr Rudd’s commitment to fast-track Australia’s infrastructure building in response to the global financial crisis is a clear demonstration of national leadership. The single most important thing the Government can now do to turn Mr Rudd’s commitment into a reality is to fast-track the National Broadband Network.
“The National Broadband Network is a massive project, larger than the Snowy Mountains Scheme, and will cost many billions of dollars and take many years to build. It is hugely complex, with tens of thousands of nodes and more than 100,000kms of optical fibre being laid all over Australia in a fundamental upgrade of Telstra’s fixed network. The National Broadband Network must be world-class and the job must be done properly from the start.
“The reality is that Telstra is the only company that has the network; the financial capability; the proven record; the technical capacity; the skilled work force; the world-class vendors; and the detailed plans to build Australia’s single most important infrastructure project.
“It is time to get on with the job of building the National Broadband Network for the benefit of all Australians.”