NBN Futures: The Option of Merging NBN Co with InfraCo, as a Benefit to the Digital Economy
Main Article Content
Keywords
Telecommunications policy, structural separation, National Broadband Network, Telstra, Australian telecommunications
Abstract
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, and the pros and cons of public versus private ownership of the merged entity, “NetCo”.
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References
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Campbell, L.H. & Milner, M. (2019). The NBN Futures Forum. Discussing the Future Ownership of Australia’s National Broadband Network, Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, 7(3), September. https://doi.org/10.18080/jtde.v7n3.202
Chirgwin, R. (2018). Telstra reveals radical restructure plan, The Register, 20 June. Retrieved from https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/06/20/yet_another_restructure_for_struggling_telstra/
Crozier, R. (2018). NBN is building an “insight lab”, itnews, 6 April. Retrieved from https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nbn-co-is-building-an-insight-lab-488139
Department of Communications and the Arts. (2016). NBN Co Ltd Statement of Expectations, 24 August. Retrieved from https://www.communications.gov.au/publications/nbnstatementofexpectations
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Department of Industry, Innovation and Science. (2018). Australia’s Tech Future: Delivering a strong, safe and inclusive digital economy, 19 December. Retrieved from https://www.industry.gov.au/sites/default/files/2018-12/australias-tech-future.pdf
Duke, J. (2019a). Fletcher rules out NBN sale to Telstra, Sydney Morning Herald, 10 July. Retrieved from https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/fletcher-rules-out-nbn-sale-to-telstra-20190709-p525j0.html
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Fifield, M. (2018). Telecommunications Universal Service Guarantee, 5 December. Retrieved from https://www.minister.communications.gov.au/minister/mitch-fifield/news/telecommunications-universal-service-guarantee
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Gerrand, P. (2017). Historical paper: The 2004 Proposal for the Structural Separation of Telstra, Australian Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, 5(4), 70-86, December. https://doi.org/10.18080/jtde.v5n4.134
Gregory, M. A. (2019). How to Transition the National Broadband Network to Fibre To The Premises, Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, 7(1), 57-67. https://doi.org/10.18080/jtde.v7n1.182
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NBN Co. (2018). Annual Report 2018. Retrieved from https://www.nbnco.com.au/content/dam/nbnco2/2018/documents/media-centre/nbn-co-annual-report-2018.pdf
NBN Co. (2019). Corporate Plan 2020-23. Released 29 August. Retrieved from https://www2.nbnco.com.au/corporate-information/about-nbn-co/corporate-plan
Pearce, R. (2019a). Comms minister says NBN privatisation ‘some way away’, Computerworld, 11 June. Retrieved from https://www.computerworld.com.au/article/662719/comms-minister-says-nbn-privatisation-some-way-away/
Pearce, R. (2019b). Path still open for InfraCo role in privatised NBN: Telstra CEO, Computerworld, 31 July. Retrieved from https://www.computerworld.com.au/article/664799/path-still-open-infraco-role-privatised-nbn-telstra-ceo/
Penn, A. (2018). T22 – our plan to lead, Telstra Exchange, 20 June. Retrieved from https://exchange.telstra.com.au/telstra2022-our-plan-to-lead/
Pugh, N. (2019). The Wireless Threat to Fixed Broadband Services. Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, 7(1), 7-19. https://doi.org/10.18080/jtde.v7n1.178
Quigley, M. (2019). What happened to broadband in Australia?, The Monthly, March. Retrieved from https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2019/march/1551445200/michael-quigley/what-happened-broadband-australia
Ramli, D. (2016). NBN worth $27b despite $56b construction cost, says PWC, Sydney Morning Herald, 18 February. Retrieved from https://www.smh.com.au/business/nbn-worth-27-billion-despite-56-billion-construction-cost-says-pwc-20160217-gmwbd5.html
Reichert, C. (2017). USO to be axed in 2020 for Universal Service Guarantee, ZDNet, 20 December. at https://www.zdnet.com/article/uso-to-be-axed-in-2020-for-universal-service-guarantee/
Ritchie, G. (2019). Why Low-Earth Orbit Satellites are the New Space Race, Bloomberg Businessweek, 9 August. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-08-09/why-low-earth-orbit-satellites-are-the-new-space-race-quicktake
Telstra. (2019). Financial results for the half-year ended 31 December 2018. Retrieved from https://www.telstra.com.au/content/dam/tcom/about-us/investors/pdf%20F/140219-Financial-results-for-the-half-year-ended-31-December-2018.pdf
Vocus. (2019). Business Broadband Plans. Retrieved from https://www.vocus.co.nz/broadband-plans
ANAO [Australian National Audit Office]. (2000). Second Tranche Sale of Telstra Shares, Audit Report No. 20 2000-2001, 30 November. Retrieved from https://www.anao.gov.au/sites/g/files/net616/f/anao_report_2000-2001_20.pdf
ANAO [Australian National Audit Office]. (2008). Third Tranche Sale of Telstra Shares, Audit Report No. 43 2007-08, 24 June. Retrieved from https://www.anao.gov.au/sites/default/files/ANAO_Report_2007-2008_43.pdf
Campbell, L.H. & Milner, M. (2019). The NBN Futures Forum. Discussing the Future Ownership of Australia’s National Broadband Network, Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, 7(3), September. https://doi.org/10.18080/jtde.v7n3.202
Chirgwin, R. (2018). Telstra reveals radical restructure plan, The Register, 20 June. Retrieved from https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/06/20/yet_another_restructure_for_struggling_telstra/
Crozier, R. (2018). NBN is building an “insight lab”, itnews, 6 April. Retrieved from https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nbn-co-is-building-an-insight-lab-488139
Department of Communications and the Arts. (2016). NBN Co Ltd Statement of Expectations, 24 August. Retrieved from https://www.communications.gov.au/publications/nbnstatementofexpectations
Department of Finance. (no date). NBN Co Ltd (nbn), Commonwealth Government Business Enterprises. Retrieved on 1 September 2019 from https://www.finance.gov.au/gbe-directors-guide/gbe/nbn/
Department of Industry, Innovation and Science. (2018). Australia’s Tech Future: Delivering a strong, safe and inclusive digital economy, 19 December. Retrieved from https://www.industry.gov.au/sites/default/files/2018-12/australias-tech-future.pdf
Duke, J. (2019a). Fletcher rules out NBN sale to Telstra, Sydney Morning Herald, 10 July. Retrieved from https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/fletcher-rules-out-nbn-sale-to-telstra-20190709-p525j0.html
Duke, J. (2019b). ‘Incredibly damaging for the NBN’: Telstra boss warns 5G disruptors will take customers, Sydney Morning Herald, 31 July. Retrieved from https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/incredibly-damaging-for-the-nbn-telstra-boss-warns-5g-disruptors-will-take-customers-20190731-p52cda.html
Fifield, M. (2018). Telecommunications Universal Service Guarantee, 5 December. Retrieved from https://www.minister.communications.gov.au/minister/mitch-fifield/news/telecommunications-universal-service-guarantee
Gerrand, P. (2004). Revisiting the Structural Separation of Telstra, Telecommunication Journal of Australia, 54(3), 15-28. Republished online in Gerrand (2017).
Gerrand, P. (2017). Historical paper: The 2004 Proposal for the Structural Separation of Telstra, Australian Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, 5(4), 70-86, December. https://doi.org/10.18080/jtde.v5n4.134
Gregory, M. A. (2019). How to Transition the National Broadband Network to Fibre To The Premises, Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, 7(1), 57-67. https://doi.org/10.18080/jtde.v7n1.182
Kruger, C. (2019). Telstra CEO warns of NBN's 'unnatural distortion' of broadband market, Sydney Morning Herald, 30 July. Retrieved from https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/telstra-ceo-warns-of-nbn-s-unnatural-distortion-of-broadband-market-20190730-p52c3o.html?js-chunk-not-found-refresh=true
NBN Co. (2010). NBN Co. Business Case Summary, NBN Co Limited, 24 November. Retrieved from http://images.smh.com.au/file/2010/11/24/2061700/NBN%20Co%20%20Business%20Case%20Summary.pdf
NBN Co. (2018). Annual Report 2018. Retrieved from https://www.nbnco.com.au/content/dam/nbnco2/2018/documents/media-centre/nbn-co-annual-report-2018.pdf
NBN Co. (2019). Corporate Plan 2020-23. Released 29 August. Retrieved from https://www2.nbnco.com.au/corporate-information/about-nbn-co/corporate-plan
Pearce, R. (2019a). Comms minister says NBN privatisation ‘some way away’, Computerworld, 11 June. Retrieved from https://www.computerworld.com.au/article/662719/comms-minister-says-nbn-privatisation-some-way-away/
Pearce, R. (2019b). Path still open for InfraCo role in privatised NBN: Telstra CEO, Computerworld, 31 July. Retrieved from https://www.computerworld.com.au/article/664799/path-still-open-infraco-role-privatised-nbn-telstra-ceo/
Penn, A. (2018). T22 – our plan to lead, Telstra Exchange, 20 June. Retrieved from https://exchange.telstra.com.au/telstra2022-our-plan-to-lead/
Pugh, N. (2019). The Wireless Threat to Fixed Broadband Services. Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, 7(1), 7-19. https://doi.org/10.18080/jtde.v7n1.178
Quigley, M. (2019). What happened to broadband in Australia?, The Monthly, March. Retrieved from https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2019/march/1551445200/michael-quigley/what-happened-broadband-australia
Ramli, D. (2016). NBN worth $27b despite $56b construction cost, says PWC, Sydney Morning Herald, 18 February. Retrieved from https://www.smh.com.au/business/nbn-worth-27-billion-despite-56-billion-construction-cost-says-pwc-20160217-gmwbd5.html
Reichert, C. (2017). USO to be axed in 2020 for Universal Service Guarantee, ZDNet, 20 December. at https://www.zdnet.com/article/uso-to-be-axed-in-2020-for-universal-service-guarantee/
Ritchie, G. (2019). Why Low-Earth Orbit Satellites are the New Space Race, Bloomberg Businessweek, 9 August. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-08-09/why-low-earth-orbit-satellites-are-the-new-space-race-quicktake
Telstra. (2019). Financial results for the half-year ended 31 December 2018. Retrieved from https://www.telstra.com.au/content/dam/tcom/about-us/investors/pdf%20F/140219-Financial-results-for-the-half-year-ended-31-December-2018.pdf
Vocus. (2019). Business Broadband Plans. Retrieved from https://www.vocus.co.nz/broadband-plans
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Published
Sep 5, 2019
Article Details
How to Cite
Gerrand, P. (2019). NBN Futures: The Option of Merging NBN Co with InfraCo, as a Benefit to the Digital Economy. Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, 7(3), 10–26. https://doi.org/10.18080/jtde.v7n3.198
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Public Policy
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