Next week set for the government to announce the broadband tender

An announcement is set to be made next week as to which of the five remaining consortium that entered proposals to build the National Broadband Network worth $4.7 billion for the Federal Government has won the bid.

Next week is now the expected date set for the Federal Government to announce who has won the tender to build its multi-billion dollar National Broadband Network.

Since Telstra was thrown out of the tender process nearly three months ago on the basis that the government requirements were not met by the telco’s proposal, five consortiums now remain in the running for the tender.

Stephen Conroy, the Communications minister said that once the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd returns from his trip overseas to Britain and the United States he will announce Governments preferred bidder.

He said “I’ve said over the last couple of weeks we’re just waiting for Kevin to get back and it should be next week I expect. Now which day is dependent on a whole range of factors not necessarily in my control, but I would be hopeful that we’ll be making an announcement next week.”

The ability of the Government to meet the latest deadline for the National Broadband Network is something that the Federal Opposition has said that it has very little confidence in.

The inability of the Government to stick to the original timetable for the NBN and the exclusion of Telstra from the bidding process made the whole process a shamble according to Nick Minchin, the Opposition communication spokesman. He said “Senator Conroy promised that construction of the National Broadband Network would begin by the end of 2008. And here we are, nearly halfway through the Government’s term, and they still don’t have a preferred builder of the National Broadband Network. It’s not surprising that Kevin Rudd won’t let Senator Conroy announce it on his own.”