Labor's NBN plans to hit regional sweet spots

Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy said the NBN will provide broadband speeds of 12Mbps to all Australians, no matter where they choose to live or work 

"This plan will provide next-generation wireless and launch next-generation satellites to link all premises in regional, rural and remote Australia," he said.

"In addition, it will connect homes and businesses in towns with a population of around 1,000 with speeds up to 100Mbps - 100 times faster than those currently used by many households and businesses.

"This plan is a top outcome for regional and rural Australia and has been endorsed as such by Nationals leader Senator Barnaby Joyce and Senator Fiona Nash."

Senator Conroy said rural areas will be able to benefit from improved educational and health resources, new trade opportunities and better communications.

He said Tasmania will be the launch state for the Commonwealth's NBN, which will begin rolling out in the state as early as July 2009, before a full national roll-out in early 2010.

The Tasmanian Government, in conjunction with Aurora Energy, will construct a fibre to the premise network which will deliver speeds of 100 Megabits per second, connecting over 200,000 Tasmanian households and businesses.

The FTTP network will also extend to all hospitals and almost 90 percent of schools.

The Tasmanian Government will construct a wireless network and the Australian Government's National Broadband Network satellite solution will service the remainder of the state with speeds of 12 Mbps or more.

The decision to launch the National Broadband Network in Tasmania was based on the advice of the Government's independent Expert Panel.

Last year, the Tasmanian Government submitted a proposal under the Request for Proposal (RFP) process to roll out a National Broadband Network.

The Tasmanian proposal combined use of fibre to the home and workplace and high speed wireless services.

The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission also noted that the Tasmanian proposal raised no issues from a competition perspective.