The government announced its policy on broadband within the Budget this afternoon. I had the unusual experience of sitting through the lockup for media and analysts.
The highlight is expenditure of $325 million over five years in the framework of a Broadband Investment Fund based on contestable grants available to any legal entity including local government, power and phone companies, and community groups.
A good deal of detail has been released. There will be quite a complex application process with a gap of almost year from the time an applicant submits an EoI in August, until the result is known in June 2009. The process for a group wanting to lodge an application embraces applicant support, an EoI, an application, analysis and recommendation within the MED, a recommendation by a group of officials, sign-off by the CEO of the MED, and final sign off by Cabinet. It sounds very much like the “Broadband Challenge of old with significantly more money, but with bit more bureaucracy tacked on.
A new Digital Development Council which the government has been promoting has its role revealed – it will provide “policy advice and review” to Ministers, for which the government will grant it around $500k a year. TUANZ is one of a number of groups that have participated in the establishment phase at the Minister’s request and the expectation is that we will become a member of the Council at the appropriate time.
There’s also $15 million in there as capital expenditure towards a new trans Tasman cable. On its own that would get the cable about to Somes Island, but obviously it will be leveraged by private sector investment. Its a good signal.
My reaction?
On the positive side, the fact that money has been allocated is a positive sign. What we have now is cross-parliamentary support in concept for significant public money to be spent on telecommunications infrastructure. That is a big breakthrough from a couple of years ago.
But to be honest, I feel a bit underwhelmed. The amount of money is pretty sparse and I guess I was anticipating more. The administrative processes are complex and slow - I foresee rosy times for the burgeoning Consultation Industry with lots people huddled in interminable meetings. By the time the consultation, evaluation and analysis is done, hamlet by hamlet, will the amount of money left to dig trenches through the streets of Waitotara cut the mustard.
I know Budgets are necessarily factual and boring, but I did hope to see a bold vision statement about the outcome. The nearest I could find was a high level goal of “widespread fibre to the home within a decade.”
It was always going to be hard for Labour to upstage the very strong and visionary plan announced by National. To be fair, I don’t think they’ve tried. This is the Labour status quo with a lot more money – a reliance on seeding bottom-up, decentralised local initiatives rather than a nation wide grand plan. And whatever government New Zealand has at year’s end, the desirability of public investment alongside the private sector in new generation telecommunications is well established. Good news!