Possibility of a voucher system for the NBN rollout raised by Malcolm Turnbull

With many developers looking at significant delays and uncertainty during the initial phase of the National Broadband Network, which is expected to cost around $36 billion, the federal opposition has said that it will be campaigning for a voucher-style approach to be used in the deployment of fibre networks in Greenfield development areas.

The responsibility to deploy fibre cable to large developments is to rest with the NBN Co. The responsibility to roll out copper cable in Greenfield development areas consisting of fewer than 100 lots, however, will fall upon Telstra as a last resort service provider according to a recent ministerial statement released under direction from Stephen Conroy, the communications minister.

A joint parliamentary inquiry into the NBN was recent advised by Richard Lindsay, the Urban Development Institute of Australia chief, that developers were experiencing “significant confusion” with regards to the deployment of fibre cabling to Greenfield development areas.

A move for the amending of the fibre deployment bill that would allow payments to be made by developers to accredited contractors in order to deploy fibre cabling to new areas was being canvassed according to Malcolm Turnbull, the opposition communications spokesman.

The need for Telstra to rollout copper cables in the less sizeable Greenfield areas, which would essentially cause inequalities in the broadband services provided in smaller and larger development areas and would need to be taken out again when fibre cabling was finally deployed, would be removed if the amendment was successful.

Mr Turnbull advised the committee “It has been put to us that a more efficient approach would be that a developer could, if he or she chose, get an appropriately qualified firm to connect premises in the new development, be it large or small, with fibre in accordance with the specifications that are laid down by the Australian Communications and Media Authority in consultation with the NBN.”

He went on to add “If the developer did that, he or she could then require NBN Co to acquire that fibre from the developer at an agreed price that is set out either in the legislation or in regulations. This means the developer could take matters into his own hands and get on with the job.”

Source – The Australian