Despite the apparent extension of the tender and review process for Labor’s $4.7 billion fibre the the node (FTTN) broadband network, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy is telling journalists that at least some Australians will have access to the network before the end of 2008, even though the tender probably won’t be awarded until August or later.
We guess that the winner of the tender (and that’s most likely to be either Telstra or the consortium led by Optus Singtel) will need to be ready to roll out the network from day one if that’s to happen. Even then, we can’t imagine more than a very small number of test users will have access to the network before 2009. Still, we admire the minister’s optimism. [MIS Australia]