Optus today welcomed the Government's announcement that it will be proceeding with a $600 million program to support large scale infrastructure projects in rural, regional and remote Australia.

Paul Fletcher, Director of Optus Corporate and Regulatory Affairs, said the Broadband Connect program had the potential to revolutionise broadband services in these parts of Australia.

"This program will unleash innovation and choice. It will bring new options to many rural, regional and remote Australians – releasing them from the dead hand of the monopoly provider," Mr Fletcher said.

"Senator Coonan's stated readiness to allocate the funds to a small number of large projects is strategically astute. Her approach will maximise the prospect of compelling propositions being put forward by credible applicants.

"Experience has shown that taxpayers get better outcomes from programs which fund a small number of significant scale initiatives, rather than a multitude of small grants," he said.

Optus intends to put forward a comprehensive and attractive proposal which will leverage its already substantial presence in rural and regional Australia.

Optus is committed to providing wholesale services on any infrastructure built using Broadband Connect funding.

Note to Editor:
Optus has significant presence in rural and regional Australia.

• Optus 2G mobile network covers over 650,000 square kilometres.
• Optus satellites provide nationwide coverage to over 500,000 rural and regional subscription TV customers.
• Optus has 13,000 Broadband Connect and satellite broadband customers.
• The Optus fibre backbone network travels 10,300 kilometres.

Media contact:
Luisa Ford
Optus Corporate Affairs
Tel: +61 2 9342 5045