Federal Minister for Communications Malcolm Turnbull (right) lends a hand rolling out NBN fibre at Queanbeyan, near Canberra, in June 3.
AAP Image/Lukas Coch
Two years on from the Coalition’s promise of a national broadband network that would be faster, cheaper and delivered sooner than Labor’s plans, what have we got?
Rural internet users are about to have two satellites launched as part of the nbn.
Arianspace/nbn
An extra 4,500 workers will be recruited to help in the roll out of Australia’s national broadband network. But there’s still the problem of the actual speed of the network.
Not everyone has access to the internet, even today.
Georgie Sharp/Flickr
There are still many Australians who don’t have regular access to the internet. We must do more to bridge the digital divide and accommodate a diversity of technologies.
Earlier this year, I attended a dinner for about 150 people. The first thing we all did was head for the bar to grab a drink, swamping the staff and setting back the dinner schedule by nearly two hours…
Remote households trying to telecommute rely on satellite connections to high-speed broadband – which sometimes don’t work.
AnnieAnniePancake/Flickr
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull reiterated the importance of the National Broadband Network (NBN) for regional and rural Australia in an address to the NBN Rebooted conference in Sydney last week…
Telstra’s existing customers will be asked to help provide most of the new Wi-Fi hotspots.
AAP Image/Joel Carrett
Telstra’s plans to rollout Australia’s largest Wi-Fi network over the next five years involves asking existing customers to allow part of their broadband connection to be used as hotspots. More than two…
ACCC Chair Rod Sims could soon see some of the regulator’s powers taken away.
Alan Porritt/AAP
Both the Harper competition policy review, and the more recent Vertigan NBN market and regulatory review have widespread implications for economic regulation. The reports are different in scope and their…
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull is revisiting well-trodden telecommunications competition issues.
Gary Schafer/AAP
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has not ruled out a proposal by the expert panel reviewing the telecommunications industry to break up and sell off parts of NBN Co. However Mr Turnbull, responding…
The NBN cost-benefit analysis plays down many potential benefits.
Alan Porritt/AAP
When the Rudd government announced the construction of the National Broadband Network in 2009 with an estimated cost of A$36 billion (and public sector contribution of $28 billion), it did so based on…
Shifting from one policy to another has disrupted the NBN rollout, so how does NBN Co report its progress?
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NBN Co, tasked with building the National Broadband Network (NBN), yesterday released its 2014 Annual Report, showing a three-fold increase in activated premises (210,000 up from 70,000) and a doubling…
Australia has chosen not to rely on market forces for ubiquitous broadband.
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A recent piece in The Conversation suggested that for “top broadband policy” the Australian government should look to Canada. Many observers of the development of Canada’s broadband infrastructure would…
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the cost-benefit analysis supports the switch to a multi-technology NBN.
AAP/Joe Castro
A cost-benefit study of the NBN commissioned by the government has estimated the Coalition’s multi-technology model will deliver $16 billion more than Labor’s model in net economic and social benefits…
The Great White North is about as similar to Australia as any other country … so why don’t we follow their lead?
Winston Wong/Flickr
You might have seen communications minister Malcolm Turnbull raising the issue about Australian press not discussing policy problems and solutions from overseas, in a speech delivered at the Lowy Institute…
The NBN was not subjected to a cost benefit analysis - but this may not have circumvented controversy around the merits of the project.
AAP/Stefan Postles
Big infrastructure projects, such as the National Broadband Network, cost big money. So, how do we use public money wisely? For communications minister Malcolm Turnbull and the Coalition government, a…
NBN Co is digging itself into a deeper hole.
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Has there ever been a bigger policy mess than the NBN? The latest claims are that NBN Co risks breaching Australia’s consumer law on the grounds of misleading and deceptive conduct. So how did it get to…
Treasurer Joe Hockey and finance minister Mathias Cormann face a difficult sell for the Abbott government’s tough first budget.
AAP/Alan Porritt
The Abbott government is hoping an A$11.6 billion infrastructure spending package, combined with a $20 billion medical research fund, will help soften the blow of widespread tightening of health and welfare…
Looking for fast broadband? Here, read this report.
Stefan Postles/AAP
Nobody can ever state with certainty how much it will cost or how long it will take to deliver broadband services to more than 22 million people spread out over 7.6 million square kilometres. Even more…
Consumers have never had more choice, but does that mean more local content?
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Communication minister Malcolm Turnbull’s proposal for changes to cross-media ownership laws has reignited calls for the government to protect local content. On the surface, it appears reasonable to expect…
Business Council of Australia and now National Commission of Audit head Tony Shepherd is unlikely to make recommendations that don’t fit with the Coalition’s agenda.
Nikki Short/AAP
The Abbott Coalition government, like the incoming Labor government before it, has marked the beginning of its term with a raft of reviews, including the wide ranging National Commission of Audit. Given…
Professor of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Deputy Dean Research at Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, The University of Melbourne