Two bids lodged for Australia broadband network

Australia has slower and more expensive Internet access than many developed countries and officials have warned it may become less competitive without faster, nationwide coverage. So the country adopted a plan to build the National Broadband Network (NBN) with $3 billion coming from the government. Australia's two largest telecommunications firms -- Telstra, the largest phone company, and main rival Optus, owned by Singapore Telecommunications and backed by a consortium called Terria -- lodged bids on Tuesday to build the $6 billion network. Telstra, a former state monopoly which controls most of Australia's telecommunications infrastructure, pledged to spend A$5 billion to build the network. The Terria consortium has been leading calls for Telstra to be forced to split its networks business from its retail and wholesale arms to promote competition.