FEDERAL Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has indicated that he will consider favourably a proposal to use Aurora power poles to complete the rollout of the national broadband network in Tasmania.
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Speaking to The Examiner in Canberra yesterday, Mr Turnbull said it was not too late to consider switching from an underground to an aerial method.
``We're yet to see the proposal, but obviously the NBN fibre rollout is being done aerially in quite a few places in Australia. It was always part of the plan to do a percentage of it aerially,'' Mr Turnbull said.
``Generally it is a lot cheaper than going underground.
``The virtue of an aerial deployment is you obviously save the cost of going underground, and the drop which is the connection to the house can just go straight in as the electricity cables do.''
The idea was put to Mr Turnbull and Prime Minister Tony Abbott by Premier Lara Giddings as a cheaper way to give Tasmanians fibre-to-the-premises as planned, rather than the Coalition's fibre-to-the-node plan.
Mr Turnbull said he had not spoken to Ms Giddings since their initial discussion and he was waiting for more information.
``The one thing the Premier has been adamant about is that she is not prepared to put one cent into the rollout,'' he said.
``So she is prepared to offer NBN Co every assistance except for money.''
The idea has been raised by the state government after the problem-plagued rollout stalled.
The most up-to-date figures show that 32,039 Tasmanian premises had been passed by Monday. That is fewer than 50 extra since the end of July.
In the lead-up to the September election, the Coalition committed to honouring existing contracts, but lead contractor VisionStream has requested a ``very significant increase'' in payment.
The request is being considered by NBN Co, but Mr Turnbull warned that pumping more millions into the project would make it more expensive for people to connect.
``This is particularly relevant in Tasmania, where incomes are on average lower than the rest of Australia,'' he said.
``Surely one of the priorities must be to get this project completed in a cost-effective way, because that will then make it more affordable.''
Mr Turnbull said the benefits of fibre-to-the-premises had been completely exaggerated.
``To get the benefits of broadband, you don't need to have everyone with fibre-to-the-premises. That is a nonsense,'' he said.
It's unclear when the uncertainty about the future of the rollout will be resolved.
The next step will be the completion of a strategic review early next month.