Labor’s NBN Credibility Again Seriously Questioned
August 12, 2011
Federal Member for Murray Sharman Stone is concerned the Gillard Government’s costing promises on the National Broadband Network (NBN) are misleading and will push up prices.
As internet service providers have released their first pricing plans for the network, the NBN’s optimistic forecasts for consumers have been shown to be incorrect.
It is also misleading to claim NBN prices are similar to ADSL prices. Pricing plans unveiled by Internode (a substantial Internet Service Provider) have revealed very high price premiums for higher speeds.
And whereas ADSL prices have fallen by more than 20 per cent between 2008-2010 due to competition, the NBN will freeze wholesale prices for basic 12mb/s packages for the next decade.
“The price modelling from the NBN is utterly wrong,” Dr Stone said.
“The Gillard Government assured us the cost of accessing the NBN would be no more expensive than current ADSL2+ plans available. However this is not the case and the NBN business plan has been shown to be misleading:
· The NBN business plan estimated a 12 mb/s plan would cost between $53-$58 a month with a 50GB bitcap, while Internode has said their 12 mb/s plan will cost $59.95 with a 30GB bitcap.
· The NBN estimated a 25 mb/s plan would cost between $62 and $68 with a 200 GB bitcap. Internode has said their 25 mb/s plan will cost $89.95 with a 200 GB bitcap – so 32 per cent higher than the high end of the NBN’s scale.
“These examples further add to internet access issues, especially for those in non metropolitan regions already struggling to pay.
“Distance should not be the issue when it comes to accessing quality broadband.” Dr Stone said.
“Lower income levels stop access to ADSL2+, yet the Gillard Government wants to make it even more expensive.” Dr Stone said.
“And in a further blow to rural communities, the Gillard Government continues to state that communities under 1000 households will not be part of the NBN.” Dr Stone said.
“Like the Carbon Tax, it appears Prime Minister Gillard and her Communications Minister Conroy, just don’t care about the rising cost of internet access in rural and regional areas. Dr Stone said.
“I look forward to hearing how these two will justify their latest white elephant – which without a change of Federal Government, will be another black hole without even the most basic cost-benefit analysis.” Dr Stone said.
Media Contact: Jonathan Clark 0417 148 110
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