Government warned about risky NBN loan

Original article by Primrose Riordan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 15-Dec-16

The Parliamentary Budget Office estimates that the National Broadband Network will have an $A8.8 billion negative impact on Australia’s net worth. The PBO also warns in a report released on 14 December 2016 that NBN CO could experience difficulties with raising enough capital to pay back a loan of $A19.5 billion from the Federal Government in November. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann says the PBO’s doubts are unwarranted.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NBN CO LIMITED

Blame-game in NBN backflip

Original article by Phillip Coorey, Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 14-Jun-16

The Australian Government has rejected claims that the Opposition’s policy will cap the cost of the national broadband network at $A29.5bn. The Australian Labor Party argues that its plan to resume deploying fibre-to-the-premises technology will reduce the cost of the rollout. Labor aims to connect an additional two million homes and businesses to the NBN via FTTP. However, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has conceded that it would cost too much to upgrade premises that have been connected using fibre-to-the-home under the Coalition.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, McKINSEY AND COMPANY, INTELLIGENT BUSINESS RESEARCH SERVICES PTY LTD, TELSYTE PTY LTD, INTERNET AUSTRALIA

Copper stopper, two million more get fibre under Labor’s NBN plan

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 13-Jun-16

The Federal Opposition will announce details of its broadband policy on 13 June 2016. An additional two million homes and businesses will be connected to the national broadband network via fibre-to-the-home, rather than fire-to-the-node, if the Australian Labor Party wins the federal election. Labor will also seek to determine whether homes that have been connected via fire-to-the-node can be upgraded to fibre-to-the-home. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says Australia needs a high-quality NBN in order to compete with Asia.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE

AFP raids Conroy’s office, ALP adviser’s house

Original article by David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 1 & 9 : 20-May-16

The Opposition’s legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus says an Australian Federal Police raid on the office of senator Stephen Conroy may be unprecedented. Police are believed to have been seeking leaked documents concerning the national broadband network. The raids also included the home of Andy Byrne, an adviser to Labor communications spokesman Jason Clare and a former aide of Conroy during his tenure as communications minister.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, NBN CO LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

Ziggy casts doubt on NBN timetable

Original article by James Chessell, David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 19-Oct-15

NBN Co expects the national broadband network to be rolled out to an extra 7.5 million premises in the next three years. However, chairman Ziggy Switkowski says that achieving the target of making the network accessible to more than 11 million homes by 2020 would be an "heroic outcome" given the current state of the rollout. The Australian Government is confident that the rollout will be completed by 2020.

CORPORATES
NBN CO LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD

TPG must pay for the right to compete

Original article by Joanna Heath, David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 21-Jan-15

Australian Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull says rivals to the national broadband network will have to help fund the building of the infrastructure in remote areas via a levy. The charge is intended to prevent private telcos from undercutting operator NBN Co in lucrative urban markets. Turnbull says the project has proceeded well in the last year but remains risky. Meanwhile he should soon have a response to the regulatory reform requested by Australia Post in order to provide two types of letter delivery service

CORPORATES
TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, AUSTRALIA POST, NBN CO LIMITED

NBN win could cost TPG sales

Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 6-Jan-15

New restrictions on companies building fast broadband networks have resulted in TPG Telecom stopping sales of its superfast broadband plan. Australian Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced the extra restrictions on 14 December 2014. His motivation was to protect the interests of the national broadband network operator, NBN Co. TPG stated on 5 January 2015 that the company was unable to meet the new requirements and that consequently new orders for the service will not be accepted

CORPORATES
TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, NBN CO LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS

Telstra designs new deal for NBN

Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 17 : 19-Dec-14

Telstra recently renegotiated its deal with NBN Co, the entity rolling out the national broadband network. It will still be worth $A11.2bn but involve different technology, due to the September 2013 election win of the Australian Government. The telco will also benefit from a separate move by NBN Co to award it half or more of the design and planning contracts for the infrastructure project, and some construction work. Pending confirmation by Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, the agreements may be signed on 19 December 2014

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, NBN CO LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Telstra win key role in NBN deal

Original article by Annabel Hepworth
The Australian – Page: 15 : 15-Dec-14

Telstra has announced that the value of its new deal with NBN Co will be $A11bn, just as for the old one that was superseded after the Australian Government won the September 2013 federal election. Under the changed agreement Telstra will make its existing copper lines infrastructure available to the entity in charge of the national broadband network roll-out, and there may also be an added opportunity for the telco to supply construction services. According to Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull this would be strictly on commercial terms

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, NBN CO LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, SINGAPORE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED – ASX SGT, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Telstra NBN deal delayed to 2015

Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 20 : 15-Oct-14

The Australian Government had expected to finalise a revised deal with Telstra regarding the national broadband network by mid-2014. Telstra CEO David Thodey is hopeful that much of the negotiations can be concluded by Christmas, but concedes that a final deal is unlikely before 2015. The Coalition’s decision to adopt a fibre to the node model has required renegotiation of the original $A11.2bn deal with the Australian Labor Party

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, NBN CO LIMITED, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, IINET LIMITED – ASX IIN, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION