Guy Barnett (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Conroy. With respect to the rollout of the National Broadband Network, what is the benefit of fibre to the home?

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for the question. To borrow a quote from Hugh Bradlow, the Chief Technology Officer at Telstra: ‘Fibre-to-the-home is the endgame; it is the most future proof technology available. It has a capacity that exceeds the other alternatives to deliver a whole range of applications that are restricted by the physical properties involved in a HFC network or a wireless network or a copper network.’ As Larry Smarr, one of the founders of the internet and one of the more eminent people in this field, continually says: ‘We have reached the end of the copper era. We have reached the end of the usefulness of copper and it is time to move to the fibre future because fibre can deliver the capacity.’ It is not just a simple argument around download speeds; it is about delivering the capacity for upload as well. Copper has limitations in this area, wireless has limitations in this area and HFC has limitations in this area.

The benefit of fibre to the home over the other types of technologies that are currently available is that it does not have those same restrictions. In engineering terms there is a minute amount of degradation that moves along, but, in effect, if you pay for 100 megs download, you get 100 megs. If you pay for— (Time expired)

Guy Barnett (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Given the minister’s answer, does he accept criticisms such as:

We are not proposing fibre to the home … that would be a more expensive proposition…

And:

… there is no point building something people cannot afford to use.

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Twenty questions. Who said that, Mr President? I will put you out of your misery—

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No these were questions I was asked when we were debating the fibre-to-the-node proposal. Those opposite have finally gone out and done some original research; they have not read that on the front page of the Australian. A gold star for those opposite because they have finally done some of their own original research. More information on the business plan is available today, including, as has been announced, that the capex for the build is $35.7 billion, not $43 billion—and more information— (Time expired)

Guy Barnett (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Whether that is an own goal remains to be seen. Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. I draw the minister’s attention to his speech to the National Press Club on 21 March 2007. I have that speech and I am happy to table it if the Senate so desires. The senator seems to be the biggest critics of fibre to the home. Does this not prove that the minister either does not know what he is doing or has lost the confidence of the public, the market and the government?

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As the good senator can see, I do remember that speech. We went through a tender process for the-fibre-to-the-node proposal. We went through that and we found, on recommendation from the expert panel that was looking at the fibre-to-the-node proposal, that none of the tenders were value for money for taxpayers. That is what they said. So we took their advice. And then we took their further advice when they said to us, ‘Look, if you want to proceed with the National Broadband Network proposal, our recommendation to you is not that you build a fibre-to-the-node proposal but that you go for the fibre-to-the-home proposal.’ And now that we have been through all of the costings, the McKinsey report, the business plan— (Time expired)