http://www.theaustralian.com.au/austral ... 5836195707
THE federal government's NBN Co has called on companies to start designing its $43 billion high-speed fibre-optic national broadband network on mainland Australia.
NBN Co chief Mike Quigley said that the company had sought requests for proposals to perform detailed design work at five mainland network pilot sites.
Work on design of the network is already at an advanced stage in Tasmania but Mr Quigley and Communications Minister Stephen Conroy revealed the five pilot sites at NBN Co's Sydney headquarters for the first time today.
The technical trials would involve two inner-urban trial sites and three in regional areas, Mr Quigley said.
The two urban technical trials would involve 2600 premises in the inner-city Melbourne suburb of Brunswick and a further 3100 premises at Townsville's western suburbs of Aitkenvale and Mundingburra.
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The NBN Co had chosen a further three regional locations covering 6500 premises in NSW and South Australia. In NSW 2900 premises at West Armidale would be involved in the trial alongside 2600 premises nestled along the coastal suburbs of Kiama Downs and Minnamurra.
The smallest site would be located in Willunga, South Australia where a touch fewer than 1000 premises would also be among the first in Australia to receive the service.
"This work will help to ensure that the physical roll-out of the NBN is as smooth as possible. This is another important milestone in the delivery of this historic infrastructure project for Australia," Senator Conroy said.
Senator Conroy deflected suggestions that sites had been chosen in line with government's electoral aspirations.
He said that the NBN chose the sites independently of the government to meet technical and not political goals.
Mr Quigley said that sites were chosen for their geo-spatial characteristics.
"(We asked) for this type of terrain, for these type of demographics what are the ideal places. Our engineers went through that process. That was it by the way. That was the sum total of how we selected these -- just on a straight engineering basis," Mr Quigley said.
Mr Quigley did not speculate on when the NBN Co expected to announce the successful bidders to design the network.