NBN releases latest corporate plan

THE NBN has included some telling changes in the company’s latest corporate plan as questions remain over long term funding.

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August 26, 2016 - 11:00AM

The NBN has included some telling changes in the company’s latest corporate plan.

THE maximum cost of Australia’s national broadband network has been revised down by $2 billion to $54 billion.

The top end of the peak funding range has been adjusted to between $46 billion and $54 billion, down from the previously announced $46 billion to $56 billion, but NBN says the project is on track to come in at $49 billion.

NBN Co says it is on target to complete the network by 2020, by which time it expects to have eight million premises connected.

The company released it’s latest three-year corporate report Friday morning, spruiking the current state of the rollout, claiming they are on target to have eight million active users by 2020.

“We’ve had a terrific 2016 financial year, exceeding the company’s key targets set by the Board,” NBN Co. chief executive Bill Morrow said in a statement to the press.

“During the year we completed the MTM (multi technology mix) by introducing three new products to market: fibre-to-the-node, the Sky Muster satellite service and (hybrid fibre coaxial),” he said.

NBN Co chief executive Bill Morrow. Picture: Paul Miller.

“We have strengthened our relationships with our partners; finalised contracts to the end of the build; and, improved data quality. These factors have enabled NBN to minimise many of the uncertainties and cost assumptions in the business.

“This has led to a projected decrease in the top end of the peak funding range, now $46-54 billion, down from $46-56 billion in the 2016 Corporate Plan.

“We have bold targets to deliver one of the most complex construction projects in our country’s history to ensure no Australian is left behind. We are on track to make fast broadband available to everyone in 2020.

“To do this we need to work closely with our Retail Service Providers, and apply an intense focus on the end-user experience as we shift from being a company building the network to delivering exceptional service.”

The rollout is fully funded for 2017 but there remains uncertainty about where the funding will come from after that.

In a bid to reduce costs a little, the report reveals the NBN will remove about 1.2 million premises out of the hybrid-fibre coaxial (HFC) footprint and instead deliver fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) to those premises.

There will likely be less fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) installations with the expected FTTN connections increasing from 4.5 million to up to 6.5 million households.