The Australian Broadband Guarantee provides a safety net for Australians, particularly those in rural and regional Australia, who currently cannot access metro-comparable broadband services, while the Government implements longer term solutions to improve access to broadband services available for all Australians.

"There has been strong interest from industry and consumers in the new Australian Broadband Guarantee and many constructive suggestions have been addressed in the new guidelines to further improve the program," Senator Conroy said.

Program changes include:

• up-front payments for large infrastructure deployments;

• greater flexibility in subsidy levels;

• improved consumer protections; and

• a higher level of broadband service.

"The Rudd Government has allocated $270.7 million for the next phase of the Australian Broadband Guarantee and these new guidelines will ensure that the investment delivers maximum benefit for both providers and consumers," Sen Conroy said.

"For Internet Service Providers, these guidelines will provide certainty in the development of whole-of-region broadband solutions in the more remote regional areas

that may not be reached by National Broadband Network."

Sen Conroy said consumers would also benefit through the implementation of standard contract clauses, new requirements for repair and maintenance and a requirement to either shape excess data or charge no more than five cents per megabyte beyond the data cap.

The new program will begin on Monday, August 4.