Australia: Work has begun on the National Broadband Network in Tasmania, launched by Commonwealth Minister and state premier

[news.com.au] Work has officially begun on the Federal Government's ambitious $43 billion national broadband network, starting in Tasmania.

Federal Communications Minister Stephen Conroy and Tasmanian Premier David Bartlett made the announcement yesterday.

Senator Conroy said Tasmania was the logical "test bed" for the fibre-optic cable network, as the state has traditionally had poor access to broadband services.

That means Tasmanians will be first to try out the 100 megabit-per-second network, while the construction will also serve as a learning process for the wider roll-out in mainland Australia.

The project will be run by a company called TNBN formed as a joint venture between the Federal Government's NBN company and Aurora Energy.

The company will begin offering wholesale broadband services in the second quarter of 2010 and eventually connect 200,000 households and businesses to the 100 megabit-per-second fibre-optic network.

Remaining premises will have to rely on the Government's back-up system – a combination of wireless and satellite connections offering just 12 megabits per second.

When the Federal Government announced the plan in April, it promised the fibre-optic network would reach at least 90 per cent of Australian users.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics lists 219,037 households and businesses in Tasmania as of 2006.

The Tasmanian part of the broadband network is expected to cost between $500 and $700 million.

And while that's being built...

Premier Bartlett and Senator Conroy also launched a new link between Tasmania and the mainland, breaking Telstra's monopoly in the state.

Senator Conroy said the fibre-optic link, called Basslink, would improve the quality of broadband available to Tasmanians.

"They have had more expensive and slower broadband than anywhere else in the country," he told ABC radio.

"The quality and service for broadband users in Tasmania has been shocking and that all ends with today's announcement."

Mr Bartlett said internet providers including Netspace, Internode and Primus would now be willing to enter the market, leading to greater competition and lower prices.

The 300km Basslink cable runs under the Bass Straight between Gippsland, southeast of Melbourne, and George Town in northern Tasmania.

National broadband network begins in Tasmania