As Coalition leader, Tony Abbott, continues to exclaim that WorkChoices is "dead, buried and cremated", but the party is allegedly exhuming another of its Howard-era policies in an attempt to win Government.
A piece in today's <i>The Australian</i> claims the party is expected to launch a "three-pronged broadband strategy" that would replace the National Broadband Network (NBN) and save billions of dollars. To recap, those three prongs are:
- A reintroduction of the $1.9 billion Opel project introduced under the Howard government
- A continuation of fibre rollout under the Regional Broadband Blackspots Program (RBBP)
- An increase in the discretionary powers of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to settle consumer disputes.
While the Labor Government spent the last year pushing forward with the NBN sans legislation, Smith and Tony Abbott continued to trot out the same old criticisms; "reckless and risky" and a "technology gamble". And yet, after three years in Opposition, the Coalition hasn't delivered on a strong alternative broadband plan.
It has certainly been a point of frustration and even anger for the industry and geeks everywhere but, should this three-prong policy eventuate, perhaps it would better serve the Coalition not to have a policy at all.
For all the criticisms that can justifiably be laid against the NBN, the Coalition's rumoured alternative is certainly not strong, nor is it apt.
For one, two of those prongs are already being addressed. Conroy recently announced that 1100km of the 6000km blackspot fibre had already been rolled out to rural Australian locations by Nextgen Networks under the RBBP, with construction set to begin in Darwin on 12 August. The program, which lies outside of the NBN's scope, addresses some of the key concerns laid out by frustrated rural Internet users.
Greater powers are already being given to the ACCC too, and even the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA); a fact that is often forgotten in coverage of what has otherwise become known as the Telstra Separation Bill.
Where the Coalition's policy differs, then, is in the reintroduction of the fabled Opel project, a relic of the Howard government that was proved insufficient for national purposes on numerous occasions. Fourteen months after its announcement, the Rudd Government terminated funding for the project and yet, with the exception of WiMAX cell sites, many of its aims - 1361 WiMAX cell sites, 312 exchanges enabled with ADSL2+, and 15,000km of fibre-optic backhaul - have either been met through industry competition or through the NBN. Internode even continued its rollout of WiMAX cell sites, albeit on outdated technology that is now unable to meet the regional requirements set out under the NBN.
The NBN has arguably made significantly further strides in a similar 14-month period since its announcement, having turned on the first services for Tasmanian customers, begun construction on mainland sites and committed funding to the launch of two satellites required to meet true, 100 per cent coverage of the Australian population.
Of course, the Opposition's plan is still a rumour. One source has told Computerworld Australia that the Coalition has indeed finalised its policy - contrary to some media reports - and that it was simply a matter for campaign organisers to decide when such a policy becomes public. That's certainly in tune with the promise made by Smith earlier last month.
But, so far, the only thing certain about the Coalition's stance on broadband is that, should Abbott win power on 21 August, future construction of the NBN is axed. The "National" Broadband Network, in effect, becomes the Tasmanian Broadband Network. While the rest of Australia continues with an ageing copper network, Tasmania accelerates ahead with ubiquitous 100 megabits per second (Mbps) speeds in the country's only open access market not controlled by Telstra.
Then there's the inevitable wasted costs racked up from the NBN's cancellation. Under the Coalition's rumoured broadband strategy, existing NBN contracts will be honoured, but any tenders for new work would be recalled.
NBN Co's head of corporate affairs, Kevin Brown, has told Computerworld Australia that each of the company's contracts have exit clauses to leave at minimal penalty but those contracts that have already been signed and dotted - Alcatel-Lucent, Corning Cable Systems and various contractors already set to roll out fibre across the mainland - leave Australian taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars out of pocket, with few services to show for it.
We've covered quite extensively how some form of fast, ubiquitous broadband is important for the country's speed demands, and the economic wellbeing, with benefits that are almost unilaterally agreed upon by global economic organisations the likes of the World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). One simply has to look at the burgeoning ICT industries of South Korea and Japan to see the effects of high broadband penetration, particularly when it is based on fibre.
We've also covered the issues inherent in utilising wireless broadband technologies instead of fibre to roll out a national network, a problem which brings both speed and economic concerns into account.
To put it bluntly, the Coalition's alleged plan, as it stands, is neither nationally-focussed, fast or ubiquitous. It may be easy to translate to uneducated voters - $1.9 billion is surely a lower figure than $43 billion in "these uncertain times" - but strong economic development strategies require significant investment. Or put another way, ambition requires money. Right now, the Coalition seems to lack the former, and is progressively eradicating the latter.