In cold blood, the Australian Government threw away the proposals filed for its NBN RfP and went for plan B. While everyone was expecting the announcement of the winning consortium, any day soon, Australian Government concluded that none of the proposals fitted Government’s long-term plans and decided to “toss” a few extra dozens of billions (43b in total for an 8-years execution period) and construct it by itself.
In all respects, this is a massive, truly and surprisingly massive investment budget for this vast and rural country that seems to eventually realize the nature of the telecommunications market, the key role of broadband in trans-sector economic development and the huge social impact of next-generation access technologies.
Recal that Telstra “managed” to get disqualified by the project committee during the earlier days of the RfP by drafting a proposal that did not meet the standard requirements. However, as it evcentually proved, none of the competitors for the bid provided a good value for money proposition.
This is a lovely day for fiber promoters and open access enthousiasts. I look forward to see how these plans are going to materialize. Whatsoever, this announcement pronounces a clear realignment of the Australian Government NGA priorities. You can read Paul Budde’s excellent analysis on the matter, and the Government’s announcement for more details.
In conclusion: It’s always good to have a plan B… and have the guts to take it!
