Telstra has accused the Coalition of turning the country's broadband network into an election issue rather than concentrating on how improvements in speed could affect Australians.
Prime Minister John Howard today accused Labor of being reckless and short-sighted in proposing to raid the Future Fund to pay for a high-speed broadband network.
Kevin Rudd appointed the first Labor Cabinet in 12 years this afternoon with the announcement that Senator Stephen Conroy has been appointed as Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy.
The Liberals have accused the Labor government of "breaking another election promise" after Senator Kim Carr was unable to confirm that high-speed broadband access will be made available to schools in time to accompany government's planned one-PC-per-desk rollout for high school students.
The federal government's investment in a high speed national broadband network is as important as the development of the rail network in the late nineteenth century, Labor says.
As expected, Senator Stephen Conroy -- who made a career out of picking holes in the actions of his predecessor Helen Coonan -- was named to Kevin Rudd's front bench, bearing the interesting new title of Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (BCDE).
If there ever were concrete evidence that Labor is blowing smoke up the proverbials of the Australian population, it came earlier this month as Senator Stephen Conroy, the man charged with promoting Labor's fibre-everywhere policy while simultaneously taking potshots at his counterpart Senator Helen Coonan, put his foot squarely in his mouth.
If there was ever evidence that the stoush over broadband had gotten personal, it came when Telstra's sour-grapes mentality led it to sue Helen Coonan, personally, for claimed procedural flaws in the OPEL contract.
Say what you will about Senator Stephen Conroy, but he is clearly not a man afraid of confrontation. Well, he'd better not be, because by killing off the OPEL WiMax project he has just set himself up for a battle with Telstra of Biblical proportions or a big meal of crow washed down with a $4.7 billion gift to SingTel Optus.
One of the real dangers of election season -- for politicians, at least -- is being held to their word.
An analysis by representatives of Australia's two largest IT industry groups shows that neither political party in the federal election has come up with a comprehensive policy around technology.
The biggest loser in this week's budget was broadband -- not one cent was allocated to improve infrastructure works. However, security was the winner with funding confirmed to fight intellectual property crime and cyber-terrorist attacks.
The Australian Labor Party's ICT shadow minister wants a national fibre broadband network and enough skilled people to exploit it.
Thirty or so years since the birth of the Internet, we seem to be at a technological standstill when it comes to access speeds and bandwidth. If it is meant to be a superhighway, why does it feel like a back road?
With only weeks to go to the election, how are the main parties shaping up on their tech promises?
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