Feds to decide on NBN's interconnecting concerns

The federal government is scheduled to announce on Wednesday its decision on the contentious issue of the national broadband network's interconnecting points, which Australian telco providers can hook up to in delivering high-speed internet access across the nation.

While the NBN Co had declared that 14 points would sufficiently serve the broadband requirements of Australia, telecommunication firms disagreed and insisted that between 200 to 400 interconnecting points must be established to achieve efficient broadband services that would benefit the whole nation.

In a recent decision, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) urged Prime Minister Julia Gillard to dump the NBN plan's limitation provision on interconnecting points, pointing out that the cap doesn't make sense when alternatives and communication infrastructure already exist.

Yet the government maintained that the issue on NBN's interconnecting points should not be the main concern of the ambitious project as Communications Minister Stephen Conroy reminded that the core purpose of NBN is to introduce a healthier retail competition in the industry.

He indicated that encouraging a better wholesale competition environment in the telco industry is a secondary consideration of the government.

Conroy is banking on the idea that more retail competition would lead to more affordable retail prices for telecommunication services though critics argued that his stance is inconsistent with the government's insistence that interconnecting points must be limited.

Which makes the government decision on the interconnecting issue more crucial as analysts observed that Ms Gillard's new move could essentially give the final form and dynamics of the more than $37 billion NBN project.

Also, the decision should show the federal government's resolve in providing every Australian household reasonably priced internet services and access once the NBN project is fully operational.

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