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NBN Co boss Mike Quigley today said claims by the New South Wales Government that the NBN rollout would lead to a rise in electricity prices are incorrect.
NSW government claim it is not being compensated adequately by NBN Co, who requires access to electricity poles to lay fibre cables in areas where it is unable to go underground, and may have to pass costs on to consumers, acting NSW premier Andrew Stoner, warned this week. “Putting fibre cables on power poles in NSW brings in more money for the state, not less,” NBN Co CEO Mike Quigley said in a rebuttal statement. Quigley also claims NSW Liberal government is ripping off the national broadband company and charging far higher acess rates than neighbouring states. “We’ve negotiated fair and reasonable terms with other utilities in other states, the NSW Government wants to charge us far in excess of anybody else. “ In fact, Stoner says NSW government is being offered $400 million less than the actual access costs by NBN Co, which he claims is inadequate. “That’s unfair to taxpayers,” Quigley said of NSW alleged overcharging and warned the NBN Co would use its powers under the Telco Act to usurp state government, to “allow us to get on with the job” of rolling out of the $37 billion National Broadband Network. “Using the powers in the Telecommunications Act will allow us to get on with the job of doing exactly that.” |
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| Quigley also said the NBN Co will compensate NSW if its fibre cable works causes financial loss or damage to a utility?s property as outlined in the Telco Act.
However, he added: “we’re delighted that the NSW Finance Minister has said the State Government supports the rollout of high speed broadband across NSW. |
