Published Thursday, 30 November, 2006 at 03:00 PM
Premier and Minister for Trade
The Honourable Peter Beattie
PROJECT VISTA TO DELIVER NEXT GENERATION BROADBAND
Queensland Premier Peter Beattie announced in Parliament today the Government was now seeking Expressions of Interest (EOI) from the private sector to roll out an open-access, ultra high speed broadband network across Brisbane.
Mr Beattie said he had alluded to the proposal, known as Project Vista, in October and had received a positive response from a number of interested parties.
“There have already been approaches from the private sector, and Project Vista has also received a positive response from Queenslanders frustrated by the levels of broadband service they are currently receiving,” Mr Beattie said.
“The Queensland Government is taking action where the Howard Government is not.
“It has failed to deliver ultra high speed broadband services to the general community and is holding back business development and innovation as a result.
“We have stepped in to work with the private sector to address this market failure, and I understand Western Australian announced yesterday they will follow our lead to bring their states into the 21st century.
“This is a leading Smart State project that has the potential to boost the Queensland economy by $5 billion and create more than 15,000 jobs.
“At 100 megabits per second – at least 100 times faster than regular broadband - the proposed network would eliminate frustrating download times for householders.
“It will also offer businesses, industry and service providers the ability to transfer large files with ease, including engineering design files, x-rays and large medical files,” he said.
Mr Beattie said the project was possible in Brisbane because of the productive relationship between State and local government.
“I thank the Lord Mayor for his support. We will work together to partner with the private sector and facilitate access to government-owned infrastructure to support the construction of a new network.
“If the project proves successful in Brisbane, there may be future opportunities to roll out similar solutions across the rest of the state,” he said.
For more information visit www.projectvista.qld.gov.au. Expressions of Interest close on 28 February 2007.
Media contact: 07 3224 4500
Mr Beattie said he had alluded to the proposal, known as Project Vista, in October and had received a positive response from a number of interested parties.
“There have already been approaches from the private sector, and Project Vista has also received a positive response from Queenslanders frustrated by the levels of broadband service they are currently receiving,” Mr Beattie said.
“The Queensland Government is taking action where the Howard Government is not.
“It has failed to deliver ultra high speed broadband services to the general community and is holding back business development and innovation as a result.
“We have stepped in to work with the private sector to address this market failure, and I understand Western Australian announced yesterday they will follow our lead to bring their states into the 21st century.
“This is a leading Smart State project that has the potential to boost the Queensland economy by $5 billion and create more than 15,000 jobs.
“At 100 megabits per second – at least 100 times faster than regular broadband - the proposed network would eliminate frustrating download times for householders.
“It will also offer businesses, industry and service providers the ability to transfer large files with ease, including engineering design files, x-rays and large medical files,” he said.
Mr Beattie said the project was possible in Brisbane because of the productive relationship between State and local government.
“I thank the Lord Mayor for his support. We will work together to partner with the private sector and facilitate access to government-owned infrastructure to support the construction of a new network.
“If the project proves successful in Brisbane, there may be future opportunities to roll out similar solutions across the rest of the state,” he said.
For more information visit www.projectvista.qld.gov.au. Expressions of Interest close on 28 February 2007.
Media contact: 07 3224 4500