Helen Coonan (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Stephens for the question. I do not know why Senator Conroy gives these questions to poor Senator Stephens and tries to get her to frame them in such a way that suggests she actually knows something about the rollout of either a wireless network or a fibre network. I can assure you that the Labor Party do not have a clue about the rollout of either a fibre network or a wireless network. They do not have a clue about the characteristics of a wireless network or what may be the superior or less superior qualities when comparing fibre to wireless. When you compare fibre and wireless, it is important to understand where you are actually putting it. Obviously, in metropolitan areas fibre has some superior capabilities. Good luck to the Labor Party if they seriously think that in rural and regional areas fibre can go beyond about one kilometre from an exchange—