Using government-owned fibre assets, improving network redundancy and sharing mobile infrastructure have all been identified as priorities in Queensland’s new 20-year state infrastructure strategy.
The Queensland Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning oversaw the development of the strategy, which has connected the state’s regions as one of its five focus areas.
The state’s infrastructure and digital economy departments should partner with local governments and industry to “explore policy and planning provisions to optimise the 5G rollout and reduce duplication of investment through shared infrastructure.”
The document added: “Mobile carriers could share towers and equipment spaces through neutral host models and even network functionality through radio access network sharing, to reduce costs.”
The strategy also tasks the Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy with working with the federal government and industry to “strategically improve” network redundancy, particularly for remote areas such as Cape York, which the document says often have single points of failure that can affect stability and uptime.
The government-owned QCN will “leverage fibre owned by government owned corporations to improve the wholesale backhaul market in Queensland in terms of bandwidth and cost,” the strategy stated.
QCN will also work with RSPs “to pass the benefits of government owned fibre to Queenslanders and Queensland businesses,” it added.
Other priorities include improving public safety communications, providing a centralised coordination unit to champion digital infrastructure and developing a digital infrastructure plan that will provide a Queensland-wide view of “gaps and opportunities for future investment.”
“While telecommunications networks are regulated by the Australian Government and delivered largely by nbnTM Co and commercial providers, the Queensland Government continues to use its influence with the Commonwealth and actively works with other jurisdictions to improve digital infrastructure and services,” the strategy says.
“The state also makes strategic investments and leverages government telecommunications expenditure, state government-owned investments and programs, and state planning frameworks.”
As appeared in Communications Day – 15 June 2022 – commsday.com
