Enhanced broadband guarantee for rural and regional areas
July 3, 2008
The Member for Eden-Monaro Mike Kelly says the major enhancement of the Australian Broadband Guarantee announced this week provides a safety net particularly for Australians in rural and regional Australia.
Mike Kelly, Member for Eden-Monaro
“Currently many residents of Eden-Monaro cannot access metro-comparable broadband services and in some cases don’t have internet services at all,” Dr Kelly said. “This is appalling and demonstrates the negligence of the previous Government where broadband services for the bush were concerned.”
Dr Kelly applauded the release by the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, of new program guidelines to enhance the Australian Broadband Guarantee.
In doing so, Senator Conroy said there has been strong interest from industry and consumers in the Broadband Guarantee program and many constructive suggestions have been addressed in the new guidelines to further improve the program.
Senator Conroy said program changes include:
- up-front payments for large infrastructure deployments;
- greater flexibility in subsidy levels;
- improved consumer protections; and
- a higher level of broadband service.
Dr Kelly said the Government has allocated $270.7 million for the next phase of the Australian Broadband Guarantee and these new guidelines will ensure that the investment delivers maximum benefit for both providers and consumers.
“For Internet Service Providers, these guidelines will provide certainty in the development of whole-of-region broadband solutions in the more remote regional areas that may not be reached by National Broadband Network,” he said.
“Consumers will benefit through the implementation of standard contract clauses, new requirements for repair and maintenance and a requirement to either shape excess data or charge no more than five cents per megabyte beyond the data cap.”
The Australian Broadband Guarantee provides a safety net for Australians, particularly those in rural and regional Australia, who currently cannot access metro-comparable broadband services, while the Government implements longer term solutions to improve access to broadband services available for all Australians.
The new program begins on Monday August 4, 2008.
For more information about the Australian Broadband Guarantee program visit www.dbcde.gov.au/abg or call freecall 1800 883 488 weekdays between 8.30 am and 5.00 pm (AEST).
