Waiting on a missed connection

As Australia's politicians brawl over the election outcome, the telecommunications sector sits in a policy vacuum.

The National Broadband Network Company has gone into hibernation -- finishing off existing work but not starting any new contracts. And Telstra has announced it will invest heavily in mobile and marketing, apparently demoting its role as the incumbent national fixed telephone network provider. The single biggest problem for fixed broadband expansion is the cost. Revenue from phone calls and data no longer justify the cost of installation for any telecommunications company anywhere in the world, according to the analyst Paul Budde. "We all know the fiber network can deliver other services -- healthcare, education, smart grids -- but that requires government policies that will actually stimulate other sectors to utilize the broadband network, and that is when you start getting the business model going,'' he says.