The government has made a major shift on broadband policy, signalling that national broadband network privatisation is off the table, and that it will reconsider how billions of dollars in construction costs are accounted for, to make it more financially viable and cheaper for consumers.

In a reprieve for Australia’s biggest telecommunications firms Telstra, Optus and TPG the NBN retracted a controversial new pricing plan on Wednesday, after the government flagged a reset of longstanding expectations, including for its privatisation.