Politics, policy and fixed-line telecommunications provision: Insights from Australia

Bronwyn E. Howell and Petrus H. Potgieter

Telecommunications Policy, 2020, vol. 44, issue 7

Abstract: Over the past 40 years, telecommunications policy worldwide has been dominated by the privatisation of former government-owned firms, the pursuit of increasing competition as well as the delegation of day-to-day operations of industry decision-making and oversight from core governments to autonomous regulators sitting at arms-length from political decision-making. One of the most (apparently) dramatic reversals of this trend has occurred in Australia where the federal government has set up a state-owned company (NBN Co) to fully replace and upgrade the fixed-line infrastructure for voice and broadband communications for the entire country. Some argued that the NBN heralded a reversal of a “failed, neoliberal” deregulation and pro-competition policy agenda in Australia, and a return to “social democratic” values. The NBN has attracted interest as a possible model for other governments looking to fund broadband infrastructure.

Keywords: Telecommunications regulation; Next-generation networks; Public investment; Broadband; Fibre; FTTP; FTTH; FTTN; Public-private partnership; Australia; New Zealand (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.telpol.2020.101999

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