The roll out of broadband to Greenfield sites will reform urban dynamics and revolutionize home design, stakeholders in the federal government’s consultation are saying.
A newly announced stakeholder group representing the property industry is “imperative” to the success of broadband, the Residential Development Council said.
Caryn Kakas, executive director of the Residential Development Council, said the creation of the group would ensure much-needed consultation between stakeholders and government.
“Urban dynamics need to shift. We need to take better advantage of our middle ring suburbs and link them into schools, communities and work. The broadband roll out gives us a much wider advantage to actually start using those Greenfield developments to masterplan communities that are developed around schools and shops, developed for livability, and linked to employment opportunities.”
The first stage of the roll out is for broadband to Greenfield sites, which includes large urban renewal areas. But the switch to broadband will bring regulatory challenges along with design changes, Kakas said.
“It’s going to be regulated, so architects and developers will have to change the way they work. It will affect everything from the way that we do pit and piping and our ability to access buildings, to the way we design around new networking facilities in homes. We’re talking about a move to fibre optic homes so clearly that’s going to impact design and development of houses.”
For the property industry, there are potentially “huge issues” to bear from the roll out, including the time frame, what the government will provide, what the telecommunications industry will provide, and in terms of changes to the ways people engage, Kakas said.
“It also changes the way we do business in terms of contracts and the way that we’re regulated at a local state and federal level.”
The national broadband proposal is the “single biggest thing” the federal government is doing for the nation, comparable to the roll out of electricity, Lindsay Tanner, minister for Finance said at the Built Environment Meets Parliament.
