Getting the NBN Infrastructure We Need

This article summarises the presentation given by the author at the TelSoc NBN Futures forum held in Melbourne on 31 July 2019. The author spoke in favour of retaining NBN Co in public ownership, at least for the medium term and until a long-term plan and evolution pathway has been established. Such a plan is needed to ensure that Australians have affordable access to world’s best broadband service and that delivers social and economic inclusion.

NBN Futures: The Option of Merging NBN Co with InfraCo, as a Benefit to the Digital Economy

No national goal has been set for how the National Broadband Network should provide competitive advantage for Australian small or medium enterprises (SMEs) participating in the global digital economy. This paper proposes robust national goals for how the NBN should serve both our digital society and our digital economy. From this perspective it considers the merits of merging NBN Co with InfraCo.

The NBN Futures Forum

On 31 July 2019, TelSoc held an NBN Futures Forum in Melbourne to outline possible future ownership options for Australia’s National Broadband Network (NBN). The resulting conversation provided a useful insight into the range of social, economic, technical and policy issues that need to be considered in order to reach a balanced and properly informed view on the most appropriate future ownership model for the NBN.