Planning Deficiencies and Telecommunication Infrastructure

Abstract

In 2009, the Australian government began constructing a National Broadband Network (NBN), which was expected to provide high-speed broadband coverage across the nation. The paper focuses on the early NBN rollout period of 2009–2013 and questions to what extent planning strategies and policies at federal, state and local levels responded to the urban and regional possibilities of telecommunication infrastructure, whether economic, social or otherwise. Key findings highlight a range of political issues around telecommunication infrastructure provision, reveal inconsistencies in policies at different levels of government that exacerbated the segregation of infrastructure and strategic planning, and point out policy gaps regarding the role of telecommunication in practice.

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Notes on contributors

Tooran Alizadeh

Dr. Tooran Alizadeh is a Senior Lecturer and Director of Urban Design at the University of Sydney. She is an interdisciplinary academic researching policy and planning implications of telecommunication infrastructure with a focus on the National Broadband Network (NBN) in Australia, smart cities, urban digital strategies, and telework. Her broader research interests, however, include spatial planning and urban design, post-disaster and post-war planning, spatial justice, and planning education.