CANBERRA (AAP)

The federal government will soon counter Labor's high-speed broadband plan with the spending of nearly $1 billion on regional communications, Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile says.

Mr Vaile said the government would announce within months the funding of projects to improve broadband services in the bush under the Broadband Connect program.

The program to invite tenders for $878 million in federal funds was announced last year.

"We are going to see a massive investment in new technology starting very soon as we announce the results of the tender for Broadband Connect," Nationals leader Mr Vaile told Macquarie Regional Radio.

"That's within the coming months. People don't have to wait until the next election."

Labor on Wednesday announced it would spend $4.7 billion on a network 40 times faster than current services which reaches 98 per cent of the population.

Mr Vaile said such a network would soon become outdated.

"What about in 10 years' time where there's a totally different set of technology?" he said.

Updating communications infrastructure in regional Australia as technology changed is a better strategy, he said.

The Nationals leader said Labor's plan was unrealistic.

"To achieve what they say they're going to achieve and the 98 per cent would take more like $40 billion, not just the money that they're allocating.

"This money will be taken away from the bush, it will be spent in the city and we won't see any improvement in the bush."
22/03/2007 03:45:22 PM