Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Madigan for his ongoing interest in the National Broadband Network. The senator asks a very legitimate question. I indicate that when we announced the network we committed to connect 90 per cent of premises by fibre and to guarantee a 12-megabit download and a one-megabit upload by advanced wireless and satellite. We commissioned an implementation study from McKinsey's and KPMG, not engineers. That study advised that the most cost-effective deployment of the network to fulfil our commitments was to extend the fibre coverage from 90 to 93 per cent of premises. It further advised that four per cent of premises could cost-effectively be connected by wireless and three per cent by satellite. In short, we did exactly what those opposite assert we have not done. We commissioned independent experts to compare fibre, wireless and satellite to determine the most cost-effective way of meeting the goal of delivering the government's commitment.