OPEL Networks Pty Limited was a

telecommunication Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than tha ...

s provider that was to establish

wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. I ...

broadband In telecommunications, broadband is wide bandwidth data transmission which transports multiple signals at a wide range of frequencies and Internet traffic types, that enables messages to be sent simultaneously, used in fast internet connections. ...

services in regional areas of Australia in the form of

WiMAX Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) is a family of wireless broadband communication standards based on the IEEE 802.16 set of standards, which provide physical layer (PHY) and media access control (MAC) options. The WiMA ...

and

ADSL2+ G.992.5 (also referred to as ADSL2+, G.dmt.bis+, and G.adslplus) is an ITU-T standard for asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) broadband Internet access. The standard has a maximum theoretical downstream sync speed of 24 megabits per secon ...

via a network of

DSLAM A digital subscriber line access multiplexer (DSLAM, often pronounced ''DEE-slam'') is a network device, often located in telephone exchanges, that connects multiple customer digital subscriber line (DSL) interfaces to a high-speed digital co ...

s. The network was also to include terrestrial and

undersea The underwater environment is the region below the surface of, and immersed in, liquid water in a natural or artificial feature (called a body of water), such as an ocean, sea, lake, pond, reservoir, river, canal, or aquifer. Some characterist ...

backhaul. The project is now defunct. It was a 50:50

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

between

Optus Singtel Optus Pty Limited (commonly referred to as Optus) is an Australian Telecommunications in Australia, telecommunications company headquartered in Macquarie Park, New South Wales, Australia. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore, Si ...

and Elders.

Broadband Connect Funding

In June 2006, the Australian

Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts The Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts (DCITA) was an Australian government department that existed between October 1998 and December 2007. The Department was closed on 3 December 2007 and its authority w ...

(DCITA) under the then coalition government called for expressions of interest for discussion of how to invest up to A$878 million in funding under Broadband Connect program to provide greater access to

services in rural and regional areas at prices comparable to services available in metropolitan areas, $500 million of which was envisaged as being available to infrastructure projects. On 2006-09-21, the government announced they would invest up to $600 million in broadband infrastructure projects in rural, regional and remote Australia under this program. Applications for funding were open until 2006-11-30. On 2007-06-18, in the lead up to a

federal election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

, OPEL Networks was announced as the sole successful bidder, receiving the entire $600 million in funding under the program, as well as an additional allocation of $358 million. This was to be combined with $917 million to be invested by the OPEL Networks joint venture. The awarding of additional funding was met with some debate. The funding agreement was signed on 2007-09-09, which was dependent upon further planning by OPEL and confirmation that it would reach the agreed levels of coverage. The then federal opposition Communications spokesman stated that they would honour the agreement, a stance maintained after winning government two months later, despite their own competing

National Broadband Network The National Broadband Network (NBN) is an Australian national wholesale open-access data network. It includes wired and radio communication components rolled out and operated by NBN Co, a Government-owned corporation. Internet service provi ...

proposal. On 2008-04-02, it was announced that the funding agreement had been cancelled. The minister cited OPEL's failure to meet the terms of the contract, specifically that analysis of OPEL's detailed maps revealed that it would reach only 72% of under-served premises, a claim refuted by the OPEL joint venture partners, who nevertheless stated that the project would not proceed.

Network Infrastructure

The OPEL Networks rollout was to include: * 1,361

sites across all states as well as the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Au ...

and

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...

* 312

s across all states * 114

s to be built and owned by

and made available to OPEL, across all states excluding

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, but including the ACT. * 2,400 km of new fibre-optic backhaul, including a new undersea link to

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

The venture was also to acquire long term leased links from

(10,200 km) and other providers such as

Nextgen Networks Nextgen Networks is a wholly owned subsidiary of Vocus Group, an Australian-based international telecommunications company. Nextgen's Network is based on a geographically protected national network, with the Brisbane to Melbourne link utilising ...

(2,200 km), as well as establishing a Tasmanian link using

Basslink The Basslink () electricity interconnector is a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cable linking the electricity grids of the states of Victoria and Tasmania in Australia, crossing Bass Strait, connecting the Loy Yang Power Station, Victoria ...

, providing OPEL with a

protected Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...

link to the island. The selection of

technology was questioned by some groups, including the then Federal Opposition and competitor

Telstra Telstra Group Limited is an Australian telecommunications company that builds and operates telecommunications networks and markets voice, mobile, internet access, pay television and other products and services. It is a member of the S&P/ASX ...

, leading to further debate. On 2008-01-07, OPEL acquired spectrum licences from

Austar Austar was an Australian telecommunications company. Its main business activity was subscription television but it has also been involved with internet access and mobile phones. It was founded in 1995 under the name Community Entertainment Telev ...

, conditional upon approval of its funding agreement, enabling it to deploy WiMAX using licensed spectrum rather than using unlicensed spectrum as previously planned.

Operation

While Optus was to be contracted to build the network, OPEL Networks was to operate its network on behalf of its owners Optus and Elders, offering wholesale services back to them as customers, as well as to other third-party broadband retailers. Elders intended to enter the telecommunications market by selling OPEL services from its existing retail channels.

References

External links

OPEL Networks
(original site removed) archived
Optus OPEL site
(original site removed) archived
Elders Telecommunications

Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts - Australia Connected
{{Internet service providers of Australia Telecommunications companies established in 2006 Technology companies disestablished in 2008 Defunct telecommunications companies of Australia Internet service providers of Australia Optus Australian companies established in 2006 Australian companies disestablished in 2008 Telecommunications companies disestablished in 2008