Government takes control of NBN project

In a news bulletin, CeBIT Australia reported that the Federal Government today has decided to take control of the National Broadband Network (NBN) project.

The Government abandoned the bidding process and decided to form a company instead with majority controlled by the Government.

The NBN is a $43 billion project which is described as “the largest infrastructure decision in Australia’s history.”

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was reported saying that the Government would take the lead in the project which is expected to draw telcos “jostling for a slice of the action.”

The $43 billion would be ploughed into the new Government-controlled company over a period of 8 years building the network. Funding is reported to be sourced from government bonds.

When completed, Australia would have a broadband network 100 times faster than what many Australians are using now, the report said.

Mr Rudd was also reported saying that the deteriorating global economy had also significantly influenced the Government decision to scrap the bidding process. It is estimated that the project could directly support up to an average of 25,000 local jobs every year over its 8 year life.

CeBIT Australia is a 3 day Exhibition and Conference covering the full spectrum of business technologies. It is organised by Hannover Fairs Australia.

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Posted by TFA News Research on Apr 7 2009. Filed under Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry