National Broadband Network is a Defining Issue in Australian Election

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard unveiled an expanded footprint for a planned national high-speed fiber Internet network that will now reach 93% of homes and businesses, up from 90% previously. The network is a defining policy for Gillard's ruling center-left Labor government ahead of an Aug. 21 general election. But the program isn't universally loved, even though it is popular with many voters. Australia's main conservative Liberal-National opposition coalition has questioned the need for such an expensive service and has threatened to scrap the plan if it returns to power. The government says its new network will provide much more than telecom services and aid in the delivery of health and education services to remote communities, among other benefits. The network will offer speeds of 100 megabits per second -- 100 times faster than many Australians experience currently. But opposition leader Tony Abbott argues the network, which the government estimates could cost up to 43 billion Australian dollars ($38.8 billion) to build, is a costly "white elephant" that would create a new nationalized communications monopoly. Tony Smith, the opposition's shadow telecommunications minister, promised to unveil an alternative plan during the election campaign that will deliver "better, reliable and affordable broadband."