Australia's National Broadband Network clears final legislative hurdles.

At a conference in 2005 in Adelaide the then Shadow Minister for Communications Stephen Conroy listened to a presentation about the broad potential of telecommunications infrastructure and the widespread social and economic benefits that high-speed broadband could bring to the community.

From that moment on Minister Conroy has been on a mission and it is absolutely remarkable that, despite the many hurdles, Australia will now be the first country in the world to start building national digital economy infrastructure for the next generation of Australians.

Full marks to the Minister – he has been the key driver of the process.

Evidence has since been building up about how telecommunications infrastructure could be the key to the much debated structural reforms of the national (and international) economies. And earlier this year the United Nations and the OECD also indicated the important role that broadband has to play in this process.

For those who are arguing that this is all too difficult; that it is no more than an experiment; that it is an article of faith; that we cannot do it because there are so many associated problems – I would say: look at the Sydney Olympics.

Of course Australians can build a national broadband network!

We have the best people in the world working on it. There is no lack of top people and first-rate companies. What was missing was the political will to make the legislative changes necessary to create the right incentives for the digital economy – at the time of the introduction of a new Telecommunications Act in 1997 it was already becoming evident that far more fundamental changes had to be made to the telecoms industry structure if we were to reap the social and economic benefits of the massive changes that are taking place in the world of ICT.

At times it has been politically messy and there were occasions when even the staunchest supporters of the NBN questioned the way things were being handled.

But the government and its supporters never lost sight of the end goal. Every time problems appeared they were solved and the project continued, culminating in the passing of the all-important legislation.

The successful passage of the legislation also reflects the broad support that exists for the NBN. It has twice been an election issue, and arguably was the major contributing factor in the thin Labor victory. For the last five years the industry members have almost unanimously put their weight behind it and many hundreds of telecommunications professionals have worked voluntarily within the Digital Economy Industry Work Group and Communications Alliance to assist in developing strategies and technical, regulatory and commercial plans, as well as addressing many other elements of the NBN.

Research shows that 70% of Australian consumers and medium-sized business are NBN-ready. They understand what the NBN can do and they want it.

While some executives in the corporate business community question the financial aspects of the project they are also very supportive of the concept behind it. Equally the plans received broad support from consumer organisations and the unions. And, after decades of antagonism between the industry and Telstra, the national telecoms carrier also gave its support to the NBN and worked with the government and the rest of the industry in making it a reality.

Finally, the regulators, ACCC and ACMA, have been very positive about the NBN.

Given that so many believe that the national broadband network is a good idea, there is no doubt that, in the same cooperative way, all involved will ensure that it becomes an historic nation-building project.

It is true that $35 billion is a lot of money, but it will be spent over a decade or so and that makes it a very acceptable government investment. And in the end the government will get its money back, so it is a true investment in the country for the generations that are growing up now, and for those who will be following them – as well as for those of us today who are looking forward to better broadband services.

It is also most encouraging to see that, due to the intensive NBN debates, many other sectors are becoming involved as well. The healthcare sector is setting aside nearly $500 million for e-health, and Minister Roxon is leading a conference on e-health, in which the NBN is a major topic.

Half a dozen electricity companies are currently involved in technical trials with NBN Co, looking at combining smart grid and NBN infrastructure. This could lead to savings for the electricity companies of around $2 billion – while at the same time it will allow users to obtain better information about their energy use, enabling them to better manage their electricity use and thus save costs.

The Department of Education has been involved in the NBN right from the beginning. In its drive to broadband-connect schools it has achieved pioneer status.

So, while the legislation is important, the train has already left the station with many on board. Tasmanian users are being connected; the first mainland users will follow in April next year; and it is also good to see that (most certainly following some encouragement from the Independents) regional Australia is receiving priority, with the construction of the regional wireless network starting next year.

Most Australians wanted the NBN to happen, and they were growing tired of the debate. The message clearly was: stop arguing and let’s get started.

And that historic moment has now arrived.

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 See also (from August 2010) 'Australian fibre plan may go walkabout'.

 This editorial was written by Paul Budde, www.budde.com.au    Email:    This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it