29/11/06
Homes, businesses, schools and all Government departments will be connected to high-speed broadband under a State Government plan for a State-wide network across Western Australia.
Announcing the State-wide Broadband Network Strategy today, Premier Alan Carpenter said Western Australians deserved reliable, high-speed and affordable broadband access, no matter where they lived.
Currently, many Western Australians have broadband access of up to 512 kilobits per second, well below most other Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries.
The strategy aims to increase this significantly, with speeds of 10 megabits per second likely to become available in the initial stages.
"Many Western Australians rely on the Internet for work, recreation, information and increasingly as their main means of communication," the Premier said.
"But like the rest of Australia, our access is well below the standard found in many other countries.
"This is not only putting the brakes on e-commerce in WA, but it is also holding back delivery of important services which could benefit significantly though on-line interactions.
"High-speed broadband will give householders instant access to high-definition movies and Internet-television and allow them to conduct video-conferences with their friends. It will also eliminate those frustrating download times.
"For business, it will allow the transfer of large files, such as engineering designs and big medical images, and to update staff skills on-line."
The State Government currently spends $100million on telecommunications each year.
Under the strategy, this money will be pooled together and offered as a 10-year, $1billion contract to facilitate the installation of the State-wide broadband network by the private sector.
A competitive tender process for the contract will be undertaken early next year.
The successful tender will be required to build a broadband network that will provide access to all Western Australians and industry.
"Communities such as those at Kununurra in the far north, the outer Perth metropolitan suburb of Kalamunda, or the Wheatbelt community of Kukerin, will be expected to have the same access to this new privately-owned purpose-built broadband network as those in the city," the Premier said.
Science and Innovation Minister Francis Logan said the strategy provided an incredible opportunity for the private sector.
Mr Logan said the strategy was based largely on the telecommunications model successfully implemented in Alberta, Canada.
"The Alberta State Government has demonstrated that it is possible for a provincial government to facilitate the creation of market conditions which result in a more competitive broadband sector that delivers faster speeds, lower prices and increased penetration of services," he said.
"With the Australian Government looking to fund strategic regional telecommunication solutions under its Broadband Connect program, we believe today's announcement will give companies the strategic incentive to present their best proposals for WA to the Commonwealth.
"We will work with the private sector to ensure that WA receives a telecommunications network that will provide current and future generations with broadband services for a modern, vibrant economy."
More information on the strategy is available from the Department of Industry and Resources at http://www.doir.wa.gov.au/sbn
Premier's office - 9222 9475
Science and Innovation Minister's office - 9222 8950
