Verdict on Lib Plan: We might as well live in the Dark Ages

THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS industry has savaged the Coalition's broadband policy, calling it a ''grab bag'' of old ideas and rejecting it as a solution to long-term competition problems.

Investment analysts say the policy will have no significant effect on Telstra's share price, even though it would restore the company's position as a wholesale and retail provider.

The Coalition confirmed yesterday that it would scrap the national broadband network and announced plans to spend $7 billion over seven years laying down up to 70,000 kilometres of trunk fibre, subsidising a wireless broadband roll-out and improving copper-broadband services.

However, industry insiders say that using a combination of existing infrastructure and new fibre would not substantially improve on today's broadband speeds.

The Labor government plans to spend $26 billion building a fibre network to provide 100 megabits per second to 93 per cent of households.

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