The Australian government has launched the first leg of its A$43 billion ($31 billion) National Broadband Network (NBN) project.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy yesterday opened a tender to connect 200,000 homes in the island state of Tasmania by Q2 2010.
He said a new operating company, backed by the government and power company Aurora Energy, would manage the rollout and the wholesale network through a new company, the Tasmanian National Broadband Network Co.
However, Conroy did not say how much the rollout would cost or how it would be funded.
This leg of the project is expected to cost an estimated A$500 million ($402.5 million), the Australian reported. But Conroy and Aurora have been unable to agree on who should provide the bulk of the funds for the network, the paper said.
Conroy has been in negotiations for several months with Telstra and other carriers about rolling out the NBN nationwide. He is reported to have offered both Telstra and Optus a share of the project in return for their tipping their access networks into the NBN.