Austar says wireless ISPs would need a bigger piece of the broadband pie than the federal government has allocated to them under its current national broadband network plan.
Under the NBN plan the federal government anticipates it will take fibre to the door steps of 90 per cent of the population, while serving the remaining 10 per cent with wireless and satellite services.
However, Austar — which has long-held ambitions to use its investments in radio spectrum to build a regional WiMAX network — has told the government it would need more than 10 per cent of the action to establish a sustainable business, in a submission on regulating the new network.
“Through our own analysis, having developed detailed business case plans for the deployment of wireless broadband networks in a number of regional areas of Australia, as well as looking at similar broadband network rollouts internationally, we believe that a wireless service is the most appropriate, sustainable and cost effective technology for much more than 10 per cent of Australian homes.”
Austar has also proposed the federal government fund roll-out of equipment at sites that would otherwise not be commercially viable.
Austar’s hope of getting a return on its investment in spectrum, which exceeds $180million, was dashed early last year when Labor dumped a billion-dollar plan by the Howard government to build a regional WiMAX network in co-operation with the Optus and Elders joint venture, Opel. However, its plans were reinvigorated last week when the Seven Network announced that it would invest $50m in a WiMAX in Perth through a subsidiary chaired by Ryan Stokes, Vividwireless.
Seven subsidiary Unwired will build, operate and supply spectrum for the Vividwireless network. Vividwireless chief executive Martin Mercer said the network would be rolled out to other capitals if the network was a success, and take on Unwired customers.
Unwired’s spectrum is subject to the interoperability covenants established through a spectrum-swapping agreement with Austar in 2005. The deal, which split rights to use 2.3GHz and 3.5GHz between metropolitan (Unwired) and regional areas (Austar) requires the two companies to ensure customer equipment can roam between their networks.
Austar chief executive Deanne Weir said the covenants applied to the network being built in Perth under the Vividwireless brand.
“It will show the benefits of WiMAX. It will show that it’s an efficient, quick build and it will show that the 2.3GHz spectrum is an incredibly sensible way in which to get high-speed broadband services rolled out quickly,” Ms Weir said.
