The government has said it plans to begin rolling out the network as early as next year, but whether this translates to “shovel-ready” work, is another matter, according to the Australasian Society for Trenchless Technology (ASTT).“It seems very expensive for what it is, and in the absence of some detail, we’d be keen to see what’s wrapped up in it all,” ASTT representative in Western Australia Trevor Gosatti told CIN.He said many trenchless contractors would want to know whether the new network would be put through the existing cable, or whether new lines would be installed. “But a lot of big companies that do this sort of underground services work would be pretty happy about it if they were putting new cables in,” Gosatti said. “It is good news, and hopefully there’ll be a lot of work for trenchless contractors to lay the lines,” he said. “But the devil is in the detail, and it’ll be interesting to see if it’s included in this year’s budget, or whether it’s planned to happen in six years time.“And I’m a great lover of new technology, but there have been a lot of questions as to whether cable is the future or whether wireless is the future,” Gosatti told CIN. “There’s a lot of cable in the ground now, and they’re saying we’ve got to put this new one in. How long ago was the old one put in? Not that long ago.”
