 As NBN targets a 2020 completion date, the number of homes ready for service in the quarter increased 91 per cent year-on-year, totalling 1.38 million, while active end users were up 130 per cent, reaching 610,000 premises.
Capital expenditure for the period totalled $1.06 billion, up 57 per cent year-on-year, with operating expenditure of $409 million up 46 per cent. “The figures give the company confidence that it is tracking well towards its full-year targets,” NBN CEO Bill Morrow commented. “At the same time we have recently set the course for the completion of the rollout. Our recent Corporate Plan, coupled with our construction plan for the next three years, covers 85 per cent of the country, with the remainder of the rollout on course to be completed by 2020.” With NBN having launched its FTTN (fibre-to-the-node) technology during the quarter, the next technology in its multi-technology mix rollout, HFC (hybrid fibre-coaxial), is set for a commercial launch next year. NBN has announced that a pilot is underway in Redcliffe, Queensland, which will involve around 300 homes and four service providers. NBN is looking at around 4 million premises (around a third of Australian homes and businesses) to be connected via HFC. NBN’s Corporate Plan details a multi-technology mix comprising 20 per cent FTTP (fibre-to-the-premises), 38 per cent FTTN and FTTB (fibre-to-the-basement), 34 per cent HFC, 5 per cent fixed wireless and 3 per cent satellite. |
