Broadband Development in Australia

1. Broadband Development in Australia Australian approch to the development of broadband infrastructure Note: Presented material has been developed based on the desktop research for the purposes of the NLP-BBI Project only. See References.

2. Framework for the development of Broadband in Australia Goals established by the Framework for the collaborative development and use of broadband in Australia* * Online and Communications Council • Australian governments recognize the importance of being world-class in deployment and use of broadband as the basis for domestic and international competitiveness. • All Australians should have equitable access to high-speed broadband, and the social and economic benefits this capability brings. • Broadband and the digital economy should be driven by a pro-competitive environment that advances the interests of users, promotes efficiency and choice, maximizes flexibility, and fosters innovation in the development and application of broadband technologies. 4. Each government jurisdiction has different roles, processes and responsibilities, and these different roles should be acknowledged, respected and utilized in a cohesive national approach to broadband development and use.

3. Coverage Map PlansSource National Broadband Network: Progress up-date December 2010

4. Australian Broadband Intiatives Australian Broadband Guarantee • The Australian Broadband Guarantee is an Australian Government initiative designed to help residential and small business premises access high quality broadband services regardless of where they are located. The program targets premises unable to access commercial metro-comparable services, particularly those living in remote parts of Australia. • Under the Australian Broadband Guarantee, a metro-comparable broadband service is defined as any service that offers a minimum 512 kilobits per second download and 128 kilobits per second upload data speed, with three gigabytes per month data usage at a total cost of $2500 GST inclusive over three years (including installation and connection fees). • The government has allocated $237.7 million over four years to 2012 to fund the Australian Broadband Guarantee, which complements the National Broadband Network by subsidising access to high quality broadband services where not otherwise available while the new network is rolled out. National Broadband Network • The Australian Government announced on 7 April 2009 it would establish a new company to build and operate a new high-speed National Broadband Network. The National Broadband Network will become the single largest infrastructure investment made by an Australian Government, accompanied by historic reforms to Australia's telecommunications sector.The NBN is an Australian Government initiative and represents the largest ever infrastructure project undertaken in this country. • The NBN is an Australian Government initiative which will deliver high-speed broadband to all Australians. The NBN is a new, wholesale-only, open access high speed broadband network. • The NBN will involve the laying of fibre optic cabling 93 per cent of Australian homes, schools and businesses, providing broadband speeds of up to 100 megabits per second (Mbps), or up to 100 times faster than many people experience today. The remaining premises will be connected via a combination of next-generation high speed wireless and satellite technologies delivering peak speeds of at least 12 Mbps or more. • The government has established a new company, NBN Co Limited to design, build and operate the new National Broadband Network.

5. Mission for the NBN Co Limmited

6. In November 2010, the Parliament passed the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Competition and Consumer Safeguards) Act 2010. The Act provides the framework for Telstra toprogressively migrate its customers to the NBN, attheend of which it will be structurally separated. The Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Fibre Deployment) Bill 2010 (the Bill) amends the Telecommunications Act 1997 (the Act) to help implement the Government’s policy that fibre-to-the-premises infrastructure should be installed in new developments that receive planning approval from 1 July 2010. New Legal Acts:National Broadband Network Companies Bill 2010andTelecommunications Legislation Amendment (Fibre Deployment) Bill 2010

7. A key element of the NBN initiative is through NBN Co to operate as a wholesale onlycompany and provide access to the NBN to all retailers on an open and equivalent basis. Other objectives: Governance, ownership and operating arrangements for wholesale only by NBN company; The access regime to facilitate open access to the NBN for retail level telecommunications service providers; Facilitation of the sell of the interests in NBN CO within 5 years that NBN is fully built and operated in the way that it is consistent with market conditions and identity security considerations; The main objective of the acts areproviding

8. The Act establishes the regulatory framework for the ownership and operations of NBN Co and the rules applying for a sale of the Commonwealth’s stake in NBN Co. The main areas of the interest of the NBN Companies Bill: Operation of the NBN Co; Commonwealth majority ownership and arrangements for the transfer of the Commonwealth’s equity; Private ownership and control of NBN Co; Obligations concerning the reprting regime of NBN Co; New Areas of InterestNational Broadband Network Companies Bill 2010

9. The NBN Corporation is defined as: NBN Co Limited or NBN Tasmania Limited or a company that is wholly-owned subsidiary of NBN Co and is a wholesale- only company. The act allowed that NBN Co should no be prevented from purchasing telecommunications companies even if they carry on the retail businesses if such an acquisition could support the early development and rollout plan of the NBN. The NBN Co is the wholesale-only and should notify the Commonwealth of any proposed acquisitions. Operation of the NBN Co

10. The NBN Co Bill set out many measures to give effect to the Commonwealth’s commitment to sell down its stake in NBN Co within five years from when the network is built and fully operational. Minister responsible for telecommunication issues must initially declare , by 30 June 2018, that the national Broadband Network (NBN) should be treated as built and fully operational. The NBN Co Bill includes the regulation to deliver the Government’s commitment that the Commonwealth will transfer its remaining equity in NBN Co to other parties within five years after the network is fully built and operational. The Finance Minister is obliged within five days of the above mentioned declaration to declare if the conditions are suitable for entering into and carrying out an NBN Co sale scheme or if conditions are not suitable and „ declare sale deferral period”. The Finance Minister can extend or further extend the five year period for a period of no more than 12 months. To extend the period it hasto take into consideration: NBN Co’s governance arrangements; NBN Co’s business record; Market conditions; Such other matters if relevant. Commonwealth majority ownership and arrangements for the transfer of the Commonwealth’s equity

11. This section of the bill ensure the head of power for making of regulations in relation to an unacceptable private ownership or ontrol situation in relation to NBN Co. The private investment is allowed in NBN Co as long as it does not compromise the wholesale only model. The Government sets out any necessary ownership controls to protect this wholesale only model. Private ownership and control of NBN Co

12. The reporting obligations on the NBN Co include: Providing financial statements; Notifying the Communications and Finance Ministers of significant events; Keeping the Communications Minister and Finance Minister informed of the opertations of NBN Co and its subsidiaries and giving the Ministers such reports, documentations and information in relation to those operations as the Ministers require and Preparing a corporate plan for NBN Co and its subsidiaries at least once a year, covering a period of at least three years and not more than five years, and also keeping the Ministers informed about changes to the plan. Obligations concerning the reporting regime of NBN Co

13. Background: (…)The policy of having fibre installed in new developments complements the Australian Government’s historic announcement on 7 April 2009 that it will establish a company that will invest up to $43 billion over eight years to build and operate a National Broadband Network delivering super fast broadband to Australian homes and workplaces. The Government considers it does not make sense to roll-out a fibre network to up to 90 per cent of premises, leaving new developments to be serviced by old technology. New Areas of Interest: Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Fibre Deployment) Bill 2010

14. The Bill will add a new Partthe effect of which will be to require that: where fixed telecommunications lines are installed within a specified new development or an identified class of new developments, the lines must be optical fibre lines, and any other specified conditions must be met (‘the fibre connection requirement’); and where fixed-line facilities (such as pits and ducts) are installed within a specified new development or an identified class of new developments, the facilities must be “fibre-ready facilities”, and any other specified conditions must be met (‘the fibre-ready infrastructure requirement’). The Bill provides the access regime that: would require third party access to those facilities to be given. It is intended that regulations will be developed requiring the installer (or a subsequent owner) of such facilities to give access to the facilities for the purpose of carriers installing optical fibre. The Bill also amends Part 6 of the Act, which deals with industry codes and standards: to more readily enable the development of industry codes and standards relating to fibre optic lines and related facilities, and to give further examples of the types of topics which industry codes or standards might cover. New mechanisms set out in the Amendment concerning the Fiber Deployment Bill 2010

15. The Government’s objective is to have FTTP installed in new developments to the greatest extentpracticable and, where this is not immediately feasible, to have developments made ‘fibre-ready’: that is, to have appropriate ducting and other facilities installed in order to avoid more costly retrofitting later. The Commonwealth also wants to implement the policy in a manner which maximises the benefits to be derived from superfast fibre-based broadband for: users; competition; and the environment. Complementary objectives are to have nationally consistent network and service outcomes to the greatest extent possible and that networks in new developments should be fully interoperable and consistent with the NBN. A further objective in implementing the policy is to minimise the cost to the Commonwealth. Governments objectives for the proposed changes

16. the ‘fibre-connection requirement’, under which a person must not install a line in a specified new development unless the line is an optical fibre line and meets any other specified conditions; and the ‘fibre-ready infrastructure requirement’, under which a person must not install a fixed-line facility in specified new developments unless the facility is a fibre-ready facility and meets any other specified conditions. Deployment of optical fibre lines to building lots Proposed section 372B provides the general rule that where telecommunications lines are installed in specified real estate development projects that involve the subdivision of land, those lines must be optical fibre lines. Deployment of optical fibre lines to building units Proposed section 372C provides the general rule that non-fibre lines must not be installed in specified real estate development projects that involve the construction of buildings. As such it covers situations where land has already been subdivided but buildings are yet to be constructed or where existing buildings are demolished and new ones built. Deployment of optical fibre

17. Proposed Division 3 of Part 20A relates to the installation of fibre-ready fixed-line facilities in real estate development projects that involve building lots and building units. The fibre-ready connection requirement may be imposed in real estate development projects where it would not be practicable to immediately impose the fibre connection requirement under proposed Division 2, due, for example, to the immediate cost of installation of fibre or other considerations. In these circumstances, the application of fibre-ready infrastructure requirement in these projects is intended to ensure that there is appropriate passive infrastructure installed at the time of the subdivision, so that a carrier (e.g. NBN Co) will be able to install optical fibre lines at a later date quickly, at low cost and with minimum inconvenience to the community. Installation of fibre-ready facilities—building lots Proposed section 372CA provides the general rule that where fixed-line facilities are installed in specified real estate development projects that involve the subdivision of land, those facilities must be fibre-ready. Installation of fibre-ready facilities—building units Proposed section 372CB provides the general rule that where fixed-line facilities are installed in specified real estate development projects that involve the construction of one or more building units, those facilities must be fibre-ready. Installation of fibre-ready facilities

18. The new superfast network will: connect homes, schools and workplaces with optical fibre (fibre to the premises or 'FTTP'), providing broadband services to Australians in urban and regional towns with speeds of 100 megabits per second - 100 times faster than those currently used by most peopleextending to towns with a population of around 1,000 or more people use next generation wireless and satellite technologies that will be able to deliver 12 megabits per second or more to people living in more remote parts of rural Australia provide fibre optic transmission links connecting cities, major regional centers and rural towns be Australia's first national wholesale-only, open access broadband network be built and operated on a commercial basis by a company established at arm's length from Government and involve private sector investment be expected to be rolled-out, simultaneously, in metropolitan, regional, and rural areas. Expected outcomes

19. When the Government announced its National Broadband Network (NBN) policy in April 2009, it recognised that it was essential to ensure new developments across Australia were given ready access to fibre technology as they were being built. While the NBN is being constructed, an estimated 1.9 million new premises will be built. Connecting these premises to fibre will provide occupants with ready access to next generation broadband and reduce rollout costs by avoiding costly retrofitting. Following extensive consultation with stakeholders and consideration of the NBN Implementation Study, the Government announced on 20 June 2010 that from 1 January 2011: NBN Co Limited would be the wholesale provider of last resort in new developments[1] within or adjacent to its long term fibre footprint and meet the cost of doing so; developers – and on their properties, property owners – would be responsible for trenching and ducting; Telstra would not have infrastructure responsibilities but would be retail provider of last resort; and developers could use any fibre provider they want, providing they met NBN specifications and open access requirements. Conclusions

20. National Broadband Network Companies Bill 2010 Telecommunication Legislation Amendment(Fibre Deployment Bill)2010 Explenatory Notes for Explosure Drafts of Bills Statement by the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator the Hon Stephen Conroy -Fibre in New Developments EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM to the Telecommunication Legislation Amendment (Fibre Deployment Bill)2010 Online and Communications council – Framework for the collaborative development and use of broadband in Australia www.dbcde.gov.au www.nbnco.com.au References