[LINK] NSW government fibre

[Bill D'Arcy]

Linkers
I wrote to the NSW Office of Information Technology seeking information on
public use of State Rail's fibre. I have received a response which reads in
part:

Your frustration with the speed of the Internet connections in your area is
understandable as is the lack of telecommunications infrastructure to allow
ADSL. The Office of Information Technology (OIT) has received a number of
complaints about the speed of Internet connections especially outside the
metropolitan areas and also the lack of ADSL compliant connections to some
Telstra exchanges.
As you would know, under the Australian Constitution, the Federal
Government is responsible for telecommunications. Hence, you may also wish
to address queries regarding the provision of telecommunications to the
Federal Government department responsible for telecommunications, the
Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts
(http://www.dcita.gov.au/).
However, the NSW Government is also investigating ways of improving
telecommunications in NSW including the use of its assets, including the
rail fibre optic network, to assist in the provision of better broadband
services in areas that are currently inadequately serviced. OIT has
released a Call for Expressions of Interest (http://www.oit.nsw.gov.au).
Expressions of Interest are sought for cost effective solutions for the
provision of Broadband telecommunications services primarily to NSW
Government agencies. In the Call for Expressions of Interest the Government
is offering carriers the use of State Owned Fibre Assets (SOFA) including
the rail fibre optic network. It is expected that results of this Call for
Expressions of Interest should be available in the first half of next year.
It is hoped that through the potential development of Broadband services to
Government agencies carriers will be encouraged to invest in and/or extend
cost-effective Broadband telecommunications services to the wider New South
Wales community. This consists of both the residential and business markets
with a particular emphasis on regional and rural locations.
In order to assist communities such as yours, the Federal Government's New
Connections website (http://www.newconnections.gov.au/) contains useful
information about telecommunications in Australia including a New
Connections Toolkit. The Toolkit was developed as an initiative of the
Federal, State and Territory Governments and is targeted at being a
practical tool for regional organisations and communities wishing to
improve their telecommunications services through active involvement in the
development of new telecommunications infrastructure and/or services. I
feel sure you will find this site has many options as well as contacts who
should be able to assist you in your worthy endeavours.
If this Office can be of further assistance please do not hesitate to
contact us again (oit@ditm.nsw.gov.au).
Yours sincerely
Gregory Harrigan
for
Office of Information Technology
Dept of Information Technology and Management
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Bill D'Arcy


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