Broadband

Mr Fletcher asked the Minister representing the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, in writing, on 16 August 2011:

Will the satellite services that will be offered by NBN Co. Ltd have the capacity to provide video conferencing and interactive distance learning applications.

Mr Albanese: The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy has provided the following answer to the honourable member's question:

The Long Term Satellite Service will provide service improvements and support video conferencing and large file transfers. It will have the capacity to support a range of consumer and business grade services, including interactive distance learning services such as School of the Air. As outlined in NBN Co's Corporate Plan, the Long Term Satellite Service will be engineered to deliver high-speed broadband services by using Ka-band satellites to deliver peak download speeds of 12 Mbps and upload speeds of 1 Mbps. It is expected these services will provide a broadband experience equivalent to, or better than, what many people now experience on ADSL.

Further, NBN Co is also investigating the introduction of higher upload speeds of 2 Mbps with a roadmap of 4 Mbps to support business services.

Attachment A which can be obtained from the House of Representatives Table Office provides an NBN Co information paper regarding e-health Services in Indigenous Communities and further details the expected capabilities and benefits of the Long Term Satellite Solution. This paper notes that the final long term satellite product feature set and network capabilities will be determined once vendor selection and contracts have been finalised.