THE Government has extended the deadline for companies to submit bids to operate its next-generation broadband network.

According to an Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore spokesman, 'a number of qualified consortium leads have requested for more time to prepare for the submission'.

Because of this, it has extended the submission deadline for bids to Dec 5. The original deadline was Friday.

The winning contract, said the IDA spokesman, is expected to be awarded in the first quarter next year, as scheduled.

Some of the 11 companies that have indicated interest in submitting bids include SingTel and StarHub.

The winning company for the network will be responsible for operating the networking equipment that will channel data running on the fibre-optic network, which promises Internet access 10 times faster than the top speeds today.

The network will be built by the OpenNet consortium, which was appointed in late September.

The operating company will also be responsible for re-selling bandwidth to businesses keen to provide services to consumers and businesses, from broadband Internet access to 3D video conferencing solutions, that will run on the new digital super-highway. The contract comes with a government grant of up to $250 million.