Australia - Regional - The OPEL Network

Synopsis

The report has been archived and has not been updated. In June 2007 the previous government announced that OPEL, a joint venture wholesale company between Optus and Elders, was the successful bidder for the Australian Government’s $600 million Broadband Connect program. Following the selection of OPEL, the Government decided to allocate a further $358 million to enable the OPEL network to go further, resulting in the extension of high speed broadband to 99% of Australians. Optus and Elders were to complement the Government’s funding with cash and in-kind contributions totalling at least $917 million. In April 2008 however, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy cancelled the Opel contract claiming departmental analysis of Opel’s mapping and testing found it would cover just 72% of identified under-served premises, not the 90% required.