National broadband company Internode has welcomed the announcement by the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator the Hon. Helen Coonan that Internode is an approved broadband provider under the $163 million Australian Broadband Guarantee (ABG) scheme.

Internode is one of seven applicants that have finalised the registration process and have entered into funding agreements with the Government. As well as Internode, currently registered providers include Australian Private Networks, Elders, HarbourIT, Westnet, Westvic Broadband and Wideband Networks.

Internode managing director Simon Hackett said the company was finalising its agreement with Canberra. "We welcome this news from the Federal Government," he said.

"We are still finalising the funding details to ensure we can deliver competitively priced and sustainable broadband services to regional customers. We look forward to announcing the details of our regional rollout plans in the next few weeks."