CEDA hompage  »  research  »  Priority areas  »  Broadband

Broadband

CEDA is advancing broader telecommunications options and strategies that will enable better outcomes from expanded and competitive use of copper, HFC cable, wireless (including mobiles) and new fibre-based systems such as the proposed National Broadband network (NBN).  CEDA's initial report, Growth 60: Australia's Broadband Future: Four Doors to Greater Competition (2008), and submission to the Government's National Broadband Network Regulatory Review, outlines how information services can be far better delivered on existing technology and how the rollout of fibre can be implemented with an expansion not compromise in terms of competition.

A key option advanced by the CEDA Research documents is that there be competition across the alternative broadband infrastructures, extracting competitive value for example from the HFC cable. The focus of most commentators on vertical separation of Telstra misses the point, and indeed there may be advantages in vertical integration, so long as the resulting structure of telecommunications is competitive. To date cable largely delivers only TV via Foxtel, as Telstra has not wished to compete with its ADSL and wireless systems. But with DOCSIS 3.0 cable can offer speeds about 10 to 50 times faster than received by most households on ADSL2+. This can create real competition, along with 4G mobiles using bandwidth released by closure of analogue TV and other old uses of bandwidth. CEDA Research has developed concrete proposals that would grow the broadband market and arguably benefit Telstra shareholders and broadband customers.

A CEDA Research Perspective - The State of Play on Broadband

A Submission to the Australian Government on Broadband Policy. Comments on issues raised in the Discussion Paper, National Broadband Network: Regulatory Reform for 21st Century Broadband, April 2009.

CEDA Research and Policy submission comments on: 

• the telecommunications competitive framework 
• the separation arrangements for Telstra
• spectrum allocation and frequency auctions
• the bigger picture issues of rapid technological change and maintaining regulatory relevance. 

The submission proposes a strategy based around:

• competitive use of existing infrastructure
• new access to frequencies resulting from the closure of analogue TV
• emerging technologies
• the facilitation of a sound private investment structure within a competitive and less regulated framework. 

Australia's Broadband Future: Four doors to greater competition

This report focuses on the current Australian broadband debate. How do we deliver the best information services to customers in different situations across the country? Australian and international experts explore policy options to stimulate competition and innovation in broadband and media delivery.