Media Release

11 March 2008

G9 welcomes Government’s Expert Panel

The ‘G9’ today welcomed the announcement of an Expert Panel and the further detail regarding the assessment process as part of the Federal Government’s plans for a National Broadband Network.

The G9 - a consortium of competitive telecommunications companies including AAPT, Internode, iiNet, Macquarie Telecom, Optus, Primus, Soul and TransACT - is strongly supportive of the Government’s process to determine the successful bidder to build, own and operate an open access competitive national broadband network.

“We welcome the roadmap laid out by the Government today. We are strongly committed to participating in a competitive assessment process for a national broadband network that will provide all Australians with continuing choice for their communications,” Michael Malone, CEO of iiNet said.

“The G9 remains committed to bringing true competition to broadband users right across Australia and will work co-operatively with Government throughout the tender process,” Ravi Bhatia, CEO of Primus Telecom said. “Strong competition is critically important for bringing innovative high speed broadband services at affordable prices to Australian working families.”

“The G9 developed a comprehensive plan for the roll out of a competitive national high speed broadband network for Australia nine months ago when it lodged a ‘Special Access Undertaking’ (SAU) with the ACCC. That plan has been publicly available for months and it dovetails nicely into what the Government is announcing,” David Tudehope, Chief Executive of Macquarie Telecom said.

“We have a strong blueprint to win the right to build a national broadband network focused on customers’ needs,” AAPT Chief Executive Officer Paul Broad said.

“The G9 expects to lodge a compelling proposal and we are confident of being chosen to build a FTTN network,” Optus Chief Executive Paul O’Sullivan said.

“The G9 is encouraged to see Government acknowledging key issues raised by the G9. In particular we are pleased that the Government has confirmed the need for competitive open access arrangements since competition will be the key to delivering the most innovative services at the lowest possible prices to all Australians. We are particularly pleased to see confirmation of a strong role for the ACCC,” Dianne O’Hara of TransACT said.

“The G9 has a high level of confidence in the individuals selected for the Panel and we feel they represent a good mix of relevant perspectives and experience. We look forward to working with those members, the Government and the ACCC as we further refine our plans,” said Simon Hackett of Internode.

In light of the government announcement, the G9 will submit a revised version of the SAU lodged last year.

“The G9’s new SAU will take account of the ACCC’s very constructive December 2007 feedback on the first version of our SAU,” Michael Simmons of SOUL said.

“The essence of the original SAU will remain, with our commitment to low access prices and fair access terms underpinned by strict structural separation between the ownership and usage of the network,” Mr Simmons said.

Media contacts:
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Optus	Macquarie Telecom	iiNet Ltd
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