Communications Minister says Labor’s $3.8bn to ‘finish’ NBN will mean Aussies don’t have to rely on Elon Musk’s Starlink

Labor has blamed the Coalition’s ‘unreliable’ copper NBN for scores of Australians switching to Elon Musk’s Starlink, warning the foreign-owned network was a ‘risk’ in areas where there was no credible alternative.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Labor has blamed the Coalition’s “unreliable” copper NBN for scores of Australians switching to Elon Musk’s Starlink, warning the foreign-owned network was a “risk” in areas where there was no credible alternative.

But the telecommunications industry has questioned when the government will see a return on the $3.8bn investment, which has provisioned $6100 per premise to upgrade copper connections to fibre.

As Anthony Albanese prepares to visit Tasmania on Wednesday to spruik the 21,085 homes in the state that will benefit from the government’s $3bn injection to “finish” the NBN and keep it in public hands, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said the investment was necessary so Australians didn’t have to rely on foreign services such as Starlink that could pose a threat to national interests.

“(Starlink) is a risk in areas where there is no credible substitute, and we know that those areas are where copper is, unfortunately, the predominant technology, and we’ve seen that,” Ms Rowland told ABC radio.

“We know that fibre is the most resilient, the most future-proofed technology that is available. And we know that Australians choose – because this is a competitive market when it comes to satellite areas – they have been choosing Starlink because they have not had reliable connections through copper. And that is precisely why this investment is being made.”

While Queensland Nationals senator Matt Canavan urged the Albanese government to “put aside their egos” and partner with Starlink – developed by Mr Musk’s astronautics company, SpaceX – to boost the NBN’s capabilities, Peter Dutton wouldn’t endorse the proposal.

“Consumers have made decisions to move to Starlink already or to other third-party providers, and many of them have moved away from NBN, and in good part that’s because this government has been asleep at the wheel when it’s come to internet services and providers of those products to consumers,” the Opposition Leader said.

Labor and NBN’s combined $3.8bn investment will see 23,000km of fibre rolled out and about 8000km of civil construction, upgrading copper connections that were degrading by about 4 per cent each year.

But industry has offered mixed responses on the investment. TPG, Australia’s third-largest telco, questioned why the government was focused on areas where networks were already in place, saying it should focus “on areas not served by existing infrastructure”.

However, an Aussie Broadband spokeswoman said the smaller telco gave its full support.

“With our national appetite for bandwidth and data growing exponentially, Aussie Broadband has always believed that full fibre is the best long-term solution,” she said.

“Digital infrastructure is essential infrastructure – and we’re happy to see that NBN Co and the federal government are continuing to work together to enable the digital future that all Australians deserve.”

Industry lobby group Commpete also supported the increased investment, saying it had “long advocated greater investment into upgrading Australia’s telecommunications infrastructure in line with the increasing demands of digital transformation, and to ensure Australia remains globally competitive, supported by globally recognised digital connectivity”.

But it questioned when the government would see a return on the investment.

“In this respect it is important to call out that, at the forecast $6100 per premise, it will take over a decade for this investment to be returned if charges remain, on average, $50 per month for NBN access,” a spokesman said. “This puts the cost and time schedules on a very thin line to ensure the benefits of all-important NBN access are fully realised.”

Commpete also queried what consideration the government and NBN had given to competing technologies, including 4G and 5G internet and satellite options.

“These technologies are advancing rapidly and are already winning business away from NBN. In 5-10 years, these alternatives will have accelerated and advanced considerably, potentially becoming more attractive alternatives to NBN,” he said.