REGIONAL AUSTRALIANS TO RECEIVE EARLY ACCESS TO NBN FOLLOWING $200M DEAL WITH OPTUS

Australians living in regional and remote parts of Australia will gain access to the National Broadband Network from as early as 1 July 2011 following the appointment of Optus to supply managed services for NBN Co’s Interim Satellite Service.

The five-year agreement is valued at approximately $200 million, subject to final design and the implementation of the fully expanded network. The network will be capable of peak download speeds up to 6Mbps* enabling consumers to obtain high speed broadband Internet services through participating retail service providers.

NBN Co plans to use satellite or terrestrial wireless technology to reach the estimated seven per cent of Australian premises that cannot be connected to its fixed-line fibre optic network.

Optus will draw on its 25 years satellite experience to fully manage the service for NBN Co and will include the provision of satellite capacity, network infrastructure, customer premise equipment and operating systems for interfacing with NBN Co and retail service providers. Additional capacity from IPstar will be integrated to meet network requirements.

Initial services are expected to commence from 1 July 2011 and will leverage Optus’ existing Premium Broadband Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) service platform. The service will use capacity on Optus’ D-Series satellites.

Optus will be responsible for managing the project and will partner with Gilat Satellite Networks Australia to deploy VSAT network equipment at a number of satellite gateways and end user premises throughout Australia.

Vicki Brady, Managing Director, Optus Wholesale and Satellite said, “We’re delighted to have been selected for this critical project. Optus is Australia’s leading satellite owner and service provider with over 25 years’ experience in delivering high-quality services to customers nationwide.”

Gary McLaren, NBN Co Chief Technology Officer, said, “Optus has the experience, and proven track record within the Australian marketplace of delivering quality satellite services to consumers in regional and remote Australia. We are excited to see this project kick off and to start delivering high-speed broadband to some of the most isolated people in Australia.”

Media contacts:
Simone Bergholcs
Optus Corporate Affairs
Tel: (02) 8082 7846

Note to Editor:
*Initial tests of the network have shown that the system is capable of delivering peak download speeds of up to 6Mbps. The speeds actually experienced by end-users will depend on a number of factors including the retail broadband plan they choose, the number of