Australian taxpayers lead the world in funding Labor national broadband bill

The Gillard government faces pressure to greatly increase private sector involvement in the National Broadband Network after international research found it was spending more taxpayer funds to connect each household than any other country.As parliament yesterday began debating two crucial pieces of NBN-related legislation, the report found Australia’s broadband rollout would cost taxpayers 24 times as much as South Korea will spend on a network offering significantly higher download speeds. It said Australia was spending more public funds and a greater share of the government’s revenues than other nations to roll out super-fast broadband and close the “digital divide”.To read this report in The Australian in full, see:
www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/taxpayers-lead-the-world-in-funding-labor-broadband-bill/story-fn59niix-1226003302845au: NBN takes the cake in terms of public costs
For Communications Minister Stephen Conroy, the government’s $36 billion National Broadband Network is the best money can buy, a “first class” network that will future-proof Australia’s internet needs for decades.Now Conroy can add another first to his list of NBN tenets: it’s also the most expensive in terms of total public funding and spend per household covered, and features more government intervention than any other, according to new analysis by the Economist Intelligence Unit, which has produced an index of broadband speed, access and rollout time, as well as cost and regulatory plans.
www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/nbn-takes-the-cake-in-terms-of-public-costs/story-e6frg6z6-1226003246326$36bn price for NBN slammed
The $36 billion national broadband network has come under attack in a new global survey, which ranked Australia below many of our peers because of the project’s ”exorbitant” price tag.Despite promising very high speeds, the controversial network lagged behind the plans of eight other countries because of the cost imposed on taxpayers, the right-leaning Economist Intelligence Unit found.
www.theage.com.au/national/36bn-price-for-nbn-slammed-20110209-1an2x.html
www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/nbn-report-onetenth-the-speed-at-24-times-the-price-20110209-1an1z.html
www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/nbn-report-onetenth-the-speed-at-24-times-the-price-20110209-1an1z.html