TELSTRA has hung up on residents moving into estates on Cairns' southside, where access to ADSL broadband internet is now limited.

With local capacity all but exhausted, customers are instead being directed to the more expensive – and slower – wireless internet option.

The telco has admitted it cannot see the point of increasing capacity via copper cabling with the Federal Government gearing up to roll out a new $43 billion fibre optic network.

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"In some new areas, there will be a shortage of ADSL connection ports in the future until fibre optic cabling is rolled out under the national broadband plan," Far North Telstra Countrywide boss Wally Donaldson said.

"We believe part of the new legislation will include that developers will have to provide fibre optics to the houses."

A spokeswoman for Federal Broadband Minister Stephen Conroy said the roll-out would take place over an eight-year period and the Government would soon start a study to determine the exact coverage and building schedule.

"The implementation study is due to report in
early 2010," she said.

Mr Donaldson said, in the interim, Telstra was trying to ensure improved mobile coverage in new neighbourhoods.

"In areas where we run out of fixed line ADSL capability we do provide Next G for high speed internet capacity," he said.

"The cost differential is not that bad. It may be a little bit more expensive but not double or triple or something like that."

Leading Cairns developer Roy Lavis of CEC Group said it was a step back in time for residents not to have immediate landline broadband access.

"Most people in a new area expect modern conveniences, there is no doubt about that," he said.

"It will probably not have a huge impact on sales but there will be a bellyache effect when they find out."

In some areas of Bentley Park, landline broadband is already unavailable.

Mr Donaldson said the problem was not the sole responsibility of Telstra as there was nothing to stop other service providers adding to infrastructure.

"It is not so much about copper cable in the ground, it is more about ports in the exchange," he said.

"They (other internet service providers) expect Telstra to provide the ports and they gain access to them at a regulated wholesale price. But in some cases that does not make economic sense for Telstra."

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