It is being reported that the Australian federal government will finally release the full business plan for the National Broadband Network (NBN) today.
The $36billion fibre optic network obtained sufficient votes to make it through both houses of parliament last month after a deal with independent senator Nick Xenaphon saw a number of concessions made, including the release of a 36-page abridged version of the plan.
The main charter of the NBN was to build a fibre-optic network to bring high-speed broadband of 100Mbps to over 90% of Australian homes with satellite broadband made available to those where the fibre network won’t reach.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald report, the new pricing regime, passed in parliament on November 29, would see a monthly line rental fee of $20 per month with 7c local calls. The full business plan is also expected to reveal how much NBN Co, the company building the network, will charge wholesale customers to access the network, which in turn, will go a long way determine final retail prices paid by consumers.
Earlier in 2010, a Senate Select Committee inquiry for the the government to provide a cost-benefit analysis on the case for the NBN.
As part of the deal to build the NBN, Telstra will be paid $13.8billion for use of its infrastructure and the closing down of its copper network. Opposition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnball has said this increases the overall cost of the NBN to $49.5billion.
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