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Provider overview of Broadband Connect

All applications for new provider registrations for the Broadband Connect program closed on 30 June 2006. No new applications will be accepted after this time. Registered providers may submit requests to add new services/service areas and modify service areas until 31 December 2006.

In response to queries from some Broadband Connect Providers, a clarification notice has been issued that provides for the following:

• Confirms for the purposes of sections 2.1 and 4.6.1.1 of the Guidelines (June 2006) (‘the that the deadline for extensions to Service Areas is 5:00pm EST on 31 December 2006;
• Advises that where a provider is seeking to amend their Mapped Service Area, those amendments can continue to be accepted, so long as they fall within a registered service area or in a proposed new Service Area that is detailed in a new “Broadband Connect New Service Area Application Form” that has been lodged with the Department on or before 5:00pm EST on 31 December 2006;
• Confirms for the purposes of sections 2.1 and 4.12.2 of the Guidelines that Providers wishing to register new Services (wholesale and retail) must submit their “Broadband Connect Service Registration Form” by 5:00pm EST on 31 December 2006; and
• Advises that the Department will receive applications from Providers seeking to modify their existing registered Service(s) after 31 December 2006 where the modification will provide demonstrated benefits to Customers.

These matters will be contained in the revised Guidelines. A copy of the clarification notice is provided in Broadband Connect Guidelines.

If you have any questions on these matters, please contact the Department by e-mail on bcproviders@dcita.gov.au before 5.00PM EDT Friday 22 December 2006, as the Department will be closed from that day until 2 January 2007.

Broadband Connect is an Australian Government program providing access to higher bandwidth services for people in regional, rural and remote Australia at prices comparable to those available in metropolitan Australia.

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) can register with Broadband Connect, and receive an incentive payment for each registered Broadband Connect service they provide to an eligible customer.

Providers are able to use these incentive payments to reduce the price of existing broadband services like satellite or to roll out new broadband infrastructure like ADSL or wireless local loops, where consumer demand might otherwise have been insufficient to justify such investments.

Incentive payments

There are two categories of incentive payments available to ISPs registered under Broadband Connect:

• a Standard payment of $1540 for each Broadband Connect service provided to premises which had ISDN access at the time the customer applies for the Broadband Connect Service; and
• a High Cost payment of $3300 for each Broadband Connect service provided to premises which had no ISDN access at the time the customer applies for the Broadband Connect service.

These incentives are payable to registered Broadband Connect providers who deliver Broadband Connect services to eligible customers, at eligible premises which were not able to receive a service that is metro-comparable in price, functionality and performance at the start of HiBIS on April 8 2004. More detailed provisions are contained in the Broadband Connect Guidelines.

For further information on the process for checking which level of incentive payment applies, please go to the Eligibility checking process (File size: 91Kb).

What is a metro-comparable service?

A metro-comparable service is defined as having a peak download data speed of at least 256kbps and a peak upload speed of at least 64 kbps with a monthly usage allowance of at least 500MB and be offered at a price for a three year package of up to:

• where the service is an ADSL service:
  • a package including equipment, installation (but not travel costs) and monthly usage over three years at a price of up to $1500; or
  • subject to approval by DCITA, a package including equipment, installation (but not travel costs) and monthly usage over three years at a price of up to $2500 where additional features or functionality of a value equal to or exceeding the additional price allowance are provided; or
• where the service is a two-way satellite service:
  • a package including equipment, installation (but not travel costs) and monthly usage over three years at a price of up to $2600; or
  • subject to approval by DCITA, a package including equipment, installation (but not travel costs) and monthly usage over three years at a price of up to $3600 where additional features or functionality of a value equal to or exceeding the additional price allowance are provided; or
• where the service is not an ADSL service or a two-way satellite service:
  • a package including equipment, installation (but not travel costs) and monthly usage over three years at a price of up to $2000; or
  • subject to approval by DCITA, a package including equipment, installation (but not travel costs) and monthly usage over three years at a price of up to $3000 where additional features or functionality of a value equal to or exceeding the additional price allowance are provided.

For each Broadband Connect service a Broadband Connect provider must:

• offer each customer the service at its registered price for at least three years from connection;
• comply with data speed and service availability standards;
• provide full information to the customer about the features of the service; and
• comply with a range of other consumer safeguards.

Where are the Broadband Connect Service areas?

Broadband Connect is available to customers whose premises are in the Broadband Connect area, which covers all of Australia beyond the Metropolitan Exclusion Area (MEA). The MEA is:

• the capital cities of Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart and Darwin; and
• the adjacent high population centres of Wollongong (NSW), the Central Coast of NSW, Newcastle (NSW), Geelong (Vic), Palmerston (NT) and the Gold Coast (Qld), including Tweed Heads (NSW).

Broadband Connect services may also be provided to customers on Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands. They are not available in other external territories (eg Norfolk Island).

Broadband Connect is targeted at four categories of customers:

• a residential customer;
• a small business with 20 or fewer full time equivalent employees;
• a not-for-profit organisation with 20 or fewer full equivalent time employees; or
• a not-for-profit organisation that intends to provide public access Internet facilities.

Potential customers can register their interest in being supplied with a Broadband Connect service through the Broadband Connect Customer Demand Register. Information entered in the Broadband Connect Demand Register is available to registered Broadband Connect service providers.

How do I check the eligibility of premises for Broadband Connect?

The process of checking the eligibility of premises for Broadband Connect is fully explained at Eligibility checking process (File size: 91Kb).

For the purposes of determining the incentive payment available for a specific premises, registered Broadband Connect Providers are responsible for checking whether a customer has access to an ISDN service on their fixed line telephone. Providers have been provided with details about accessing the ISDN Service Qualification Tool for this purpose. Providers that require this information may contact bcproviders@dcita.gov.au. Providers should also have regard to information given by customers in answering Questions 6 and 7 of the standard Application and Attestation Form at Attachment 9.2 of the Guidelines.

How do I claim the incentive payment?

Once a Broadband Connect Provider has connected and commenced supplying a Broadband Connect service to an eligible customer in accordance with the terms of their funding agreement and the Broadband Connect Guidelines, the provider can claim payment of the incentive in relation to that service via Broadband Connect Online.

Broadband Connect Online is an online reporting tool where registered service providers record the details of new customers and claim the relevant incentive amount.

What are the retailer-wholesaler arrangements under Broadband Connect?

Where a service provider applying for Broadband Connect registration proposes to provide a Broadband Connect service by re-selling the service provided by a wholesale service provider, the applicant must agree with the wholesale service provider whether, and in what proportion, the Broadband Connect Incentive Payment will be shared between the Broadband Connect Provider and the wholesale service provider.

Where there is agreement to share the Incentive Payment between the Broadband Connect Provider and a wholesale service provider, the wholesale provider must register with DCITA as a Broadband Connect Wholesaler.

Note that DCITA will only register a wholesale service provider where they have established new infrastructure and/or incurred other costs since the start of Broadband Connect that can be directly attributed to the provision of Broadband Connect Services.

How do I apply for registration?

Applications for registration of new Internet Service Providers under the Broadband Connect incentive program have closed.
Providers who are approved for the Broadband Connect incentive program will enter into a Deed with DCITA. This Deed will bind the provider to offer and supply its Broadband Connect services on the terms and conditions as outlined in the Broadband Connect Guidelines.

Registration of Broadband Connect wholesalers is for the purpose of accounting for Broadband Connect incentive payments that are agreed to be passed on to Broadband Connect wholesalers by Broadband Connect providers.

Potential Broadband Connect service providers and Broadband Connect wholesalers will be assessed in relation to their:

• identity;
• corporate standing and managerial capabilities;
• technical and operational capabilities;
• financial standing;
• ongoing operation and sustainability of its business, particularly in regard to the Broadband Connect Services proposed; and
• capacity to meet the requirements of the Broadband Connect Guidelines.

Registered Broadband Connect service providers and Broadband Connect wholesalers will also be required to fulfill a range of ongoing reporting requirements including performance testing of their registered Broadband Connect services. Further details are specified in the Broadband Connect Guidelines.

Broadband Connect Guidelines

The Broadband Connect Guidelines describe the key elements of the operation of Broadband Connect, including the customer eligibility requirements, the registration process for Providers and Broadband Connect Services, and the processes for providing customers with Broadband Connect Services.

The Guidelines are solely a guide to Broadband Connect. Legal enforcement of the Broadband Connect operational rules will be through the Deed between Providers and DCITA, and in the contracts that Providers are required to establish with their Broadband Connect Customers. In the event of any inconsistency between the Deed and the Guidelines, the Deed will prevail.

On 1 December 2006, the Department released a number of clarifications to the Broadband Connect Guidelines, which includes:

• sections 2.3, 2.8 and 3.2.3 - eligibility of premises for Broadband Connect Services in the event of expiry of a mapped service area under the 12-month rule, and eligibility of other Service Providers for Incentive Payments in respect of Connection and Supply to those premises ;
• section 3.2.7 - eligibility of new premises located on greenfields sites (eg new developments) established after 8 April 2004;
• section 3.5.3 and Attachment 9.2 - Change to attestation requirements, including the introduction of changes to the standard application form contained in Attachment 9.2 of the Guidelines
• section 4.6.7 - non-eligibility of a Service Provider for a new Incentive Payment when it permits a Customer to return to Broadband Connect Terms and Conditions after having moved to a service without Broadband Connect Terms and Conditions;
• section 4.13.1 - non-eligibility of Service Providers for an Incentive Payment in respect of a claim where the Service Provider has disconnected and then reconnected a customer, in order to claim an Incentive Payment where an Incentive Payment would not otherwise be payable under the 45-day rule;
• section 4.13.7 - relating to the ISDN Service Qualification Tool; and
• section 4.14.1 – representations made by Broadband Connect Providers.

A copy of the Guidelines may be obtained from Broadband Connect Guidelines

Contact

Providers seeking more information on matters contained on this webpage or in the Guidelines should contact Broadband Connect Provider Management at email bcproviders@dcita.gov.au.

Disclaimer

HiBIS is the Higher Bandwidth Incentive Scheme and is not related to, endorsed by or otherwise connected with Hibis Corporation Pty Limited or the trade mark Hibis owned by that company.

Document ID: 35226 | Last modified: 5 February 2008, 7:40pm