NBN Co awarded contracts worth up to $635 million over the next five years to six companies: Madison Technologies and Warren & Brown; a partnership between a private Australian company Optimal and US company OFS; and three international companies with a strong local presence (Corning Cable Systems, TE Connectivity, and 3M).
In addition to the local employment generated within these companies from their Australian operations, NBN Co estimates that up to $150 million of the total spend on in-premises equipment will be locally produced.
“We have worked to domestically source as much equipment for the NBN as possible. However, we needed to balance costs against the preference for Australian-made to arrive at a cost-effective result. As we only recently announced our 12-month rollout schedule – with construction to start in areas covering over half a million premises – today’s announcement is an important part of the development of our supply chain. We have sourced a range of equipment to form a catalogue of consistent, quality components that our installation contractors can use to suit different housing and commercial building types,” stated NBN Co CEO Mike Quigley.
In addition, NBN Co awarded a contract to Syntheo, a joint venture between Lend Lease Group and telecommunications and utilities builder and manager Service Stream, to build the National Broadband Network in South Australia and the Northern Territory. The agreement means NBN Co has now established a program of construction works to upgrade the telecommunication infrastructure in every state and territory of Australia. http://www.nbnco.com.au
- In October, Emerson Network Power was selected by NBNCo to design, supply, install, and commission 10 network facilities centers across Australia as part of the rollout of Australia’s National Broadband Network (NBN). The contact is valued in excess of $100 million. Emerson will supply it full product suite, including high-efficiency power systems (Trinergy and ASCO); Liebert precision cooling systems and SmartAisle optimization; SiteScan infrastructure monitoring and management; and fully integrated, factory-tested modular housing systems.
- In May 2011, NBNCo awarded a 10-year contract to Ericsson to design, build and operate a 4G fixed-wireless network. The deal is valued at up to AUS $1.1 billion.
- Other suppliers to NBNCo include IBM, Corning, Cisco, Nokia Siemens Networks and others.