Stories about: OECD

Australians will pay more than four times the original cost of the national broadband network (NBN) in lost gross domestic product (GDP) over the next two decades if Telstra wins the tender and gets its 18 per cent ROI, a leading economic expert has warned.

A leading economist has predicted the National Broadband Network (NBN) will boost all industries but also hurt retail and wholesale companies.

The Competitive Carriers Coalition (CCC) and chair of Broadband World Australia 2008 have claimed that Telstra has pulled out of the event after it failed to force conference organiser, Terrapinn, to remove the CCC and independent telco analyst, Paul Budde, from the program.

Telstra has continued fuelling the NBN flame wars this week as it threw down a challenge to SingTel Optus in the wake of AAPT’s departure from Terria and Optus CEO Paul O’Sullivan’s comments that his company won’t invest in fixed line services if the government does a “cosy” deal with Telstra for the NBN build.

A survey of business leaders by Australian Industry Group (AiG) and Deloitte has further cemented the critical reliance of Australia’s economy on the National Broadband Network (NBN).

Telecommunications infrastructure investment through a National Broadband Network (NBN) will help Australia weather the economic crisis, but only if the ACCC and the government can pull their heads out, get the NBN players co-operating and turn the first sod before 2010.

The National Innovation Review was released this week, attacking Howard governments of the past 12 years for stymieing innovation through reduced R&D and public education spending. The review itself took flak from the Australian Computer Society, frustrated at the lack of acknowledgement of ICT as a foundation for innovation in the recommendations.

The managing director of the Terria consortium, Michael Simmons, hit back at Telstra’s attack on comments he made yesterday regarding Terria’s desire for the government to preclude an alternative National Broadband Network (NBN), labeling it a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

Telstra has again dismissed calls for some form of structural or functional separation of the National Broadband Network builder, stating that a call for separation is a call for no NBN.

The tit-for-tat war of words between Telstra and Optus over the National Broadband Network process continued last week at the 2008 Australian Telecommunications Summit, as Optus’ head of government and regulatory affairs, Maha Krishnapillai, warned that Telstra’s submission for an open access NBN is akin to free and open elections in Zimbabwe.

Telstra responded swiftly to the Shadow Communications Minister’s call for structural separation of the National Broadband Network builder, calling Bruce Billson’s comments “totally irresponsible” in a statement released yesterday afternoon.