Broadband Plans May Be the Battleground in Australia

Plans to update Australia's broadband infrastructure are shaping up as a potential swing issue as the country faces its first hung parliament in 70 years, with the two major political blocs lining up to woo independent lawmakers in a bid to form a government.

Broadband has been a hot political topic in Australia since before the 2007 federal election, with current Internet speeds lagging well behind those available in many other advanced nations; that is particularly the case for regional and rural areas. Both major parties will be keen to pitch their plans to provide better broadband services to the nation's 22.4 million residents, and the topic is likely to be high on the agenda as negotiations between the parties and the independent lawmakers get under way.

The three independents -- Rob Oakeshott, Bob Katter and Tony Windsor -- will have to decide between the 43 billion Australian dollar (US$38.40 billion) fiber national broadband network proposed by Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her Labor Party, and the watered-down version on offer from Tony Abbott and his conservative Liberal-National coalition. All three have indicated broadband will be a key part of their discussions in coming days, particularly access for the regional areas they represent.