Tags: rural, stephen conroy

Rural broadband guarantee extended till 2012

The government has extended its subsidy to help rural Australians establish a broadband connection by four years.

• Will Rudd's bush backhaul bonanza deliver?

  Rural areas will be welcoming the government's decision to put its money where its politicising is, funnelling $250m into a regional fibre upgrade. The investment could be the firmest step yet for Labor's NBN dream — but Rudd and Conroy need to deliver, and quickly, to preserve the NBN's credibility.

• Extra $60m for regional telecoms

  Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has tabled his "initial" response to the regional telecommunications review completed by Dr Bill Glasson's team last year: $60 million in extra funding.

• Rural highways get $8m mobile phone signal boost

  The government yesterday laid down AU$8 million for the next year to fill mobile phone black spots on sections of highway as well as selected towns in WA and NT.

• Telstra's CDMA shutdown: No gain without pain?

  As Telstra prepares to close off its CDMA network at the end of the month amidst concerns over customer migration to Next G, industry observers have said that after the dust settles the new network could hold promise for bush users.