Australia: NBN announcement 'momentous' says ACCC

[accc] "The most momentous policy initiative in the Australian telecommunications sector since the introduction of full competition over a decade ago," was how Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Chairman, Mr Graeme Samuel, described the National Broadband Network announcement to the ATUG 2009 Regional Conference in Canberra today.

"The NBN, based on a mix of fibre-to-the-premises, wireless and satellite technology, will spark a new wave of infrastructure investment, technological change and product innovation in the [telecommunications] sector," he said.

"Covering 90 per cent of households, the Australian fibre-to-the-premises network will easily eclipse what is currently the world's most broadly available network in South Korea, which has a penetration rate of 45 per cent. The next three largest, in terms of penetration are Hong Kong and Japan, both with close to 30 per cent and Taiwan with 16 per cent."

"NBN could offer serious advantages in a range of critical areas including:

* supporting energy efficiency through smart grids which help reduce carbon emissions
* high quality video conferencing could make this means of communication an accessible alternative to travel
* real improvements to health and aged care through telemedicine and by managing patients in their homes rather than hospital beds
* and in education, NBN could support virtual classrooms, video and audio streaming and high definition video conferencing - helping students and teachers to work together."

Mr Samuel emphasised the important opportunity the announcement provided to address long standing structural issues in the sector.

He noted that the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy has said that the NBN operator will be structurally separated, will provide wholesale services on an open access basis, and that no retail company will be able to control the network in its own interests.

"Structural separation will mean the NBN operator has a clear incentive to treat access seekers on an equivalent basis," Mr Samuel said. "Therefore, the government's announcement provides an opportunity to deal head-on with the difficulties arising from the vertical integration of the current incumbent.

"In the longer term, the structure and design of the NBN and the regulatory regime that accompanies it will likely determine the prospects of competition for other services like fixed line networks."

Mr Samuel noted that: "the vertical integration of Telstra has been one of the most substantial regulatory issues facing the Australian telecommunications industry. It has significantly constrained competition.

"As the government moves to implement its announcement, now is the time to get the ground rules right on structure, to support robust competition in the sector in the coming decades.

We have a unique opportunity to redefine the telecommunications industry but hard work will be required to get the settings right," he said.

NBN announcement 'momentous' says ACCC

see also National Broadband Network heralds new wave of telecommunications development 21st May 2009
Mr Graeme Samuel, Chairman to the Australian Telecommunications Users Group Regional Conference, Canberra

FTTH and the National Broadband Network—opportunity and challenges for competition regulation
19th May 2009
Mr Michael Cosgrave, Group General Manager, Communications Group
FTTH Council Asia Pacific Annual Conference & Exhibition 2009