In Brief: Aussie telcos prospose broadband upgrade

Australia's leading telcos reportedly are proposing a joint effort with Telstra to upgrade the nation's broadband network.

The thrust of the effort would be to pool the resources of the smaller providers with those of dominant telco Telstra in an open access network that would accommodate all players.

Macquarie Telecom Chief Executive Officer David Tudehope said the plan would provide "the necessary investment to upgrade the existing copper local loop into a high bandwidth fiber to the node network."

"This approach will deliver high speed broadband services to more Australians, more quickly, than if the new network was a Telstra monopoly," he said.

The Register said Telstra gave the proposal a dim reception, but the Australian government has show interest in its merits.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International

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