Australia's National Broadband Network (NBN) is wasting no time getting its network implementation in order by naming Alcatel-Lucent as one of its key network equipment suppliers.
This deal comes only after NBN struck a multi-billion deal to leverage Australian incumbent Telstra's wireline facilities. Following a nine-month battle between Telstra and the government, NBN came to agreement with the incumbent carrier where the NBN will be able to leverage its copper and cable network facilities (ducts and conduits) to build out its Fiber to the Home network.
NBN Co. has committed an initial $60 million fixed price purchase and has also committed to spend up to $1.5 billion on GPON equipment, aggregation and engineering assistance during the lifetime of the project. In addition, NBN has signed a $13 million contract with Alcatel-Lucent for engineering and testing services during the initial phase of the network build out. Separately, NBN has asked 21 companies to submit tenders for network construction.
Although Alcatel-Lucent is the first network equipment vendor to be named for the NBN project, Andrew Butterworth, Alcatel-Lucent's managing director for Australia, is aware they won't be the last.
Butterworth said that NBN told them that "once we get to the mass rollout, they may draw upon another supplier to support them."
For more:
- Wall Street Journal via Dow Jones has this article
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