ZDNet reports that Telstra has suspended upgrading rural telephone exchanges (for Broadband ADSL) as funds allocated by the federal government have run out.

Oddly enough, there is still money left in the Higher Bandwidth Incentive Scheme (HiBIS) but Telstra is only allowed to use 60% of it. The government’s reasoning is that this is to encourage competition - but no other providers have yet jumped at the chance to spend money on rural exchanges.

Seems like another case of Canberra being a little out of touch with reality. If Telstra do the upgrade work, other broadband providers can use it anyway! Seems a little far-fetched that smaller internet service providers (ISPs) would invest in telephone exchanges.

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