NBN footprint shifts
Friday 23 July 2010 | Comment |
The federal government will extend the fibre footprint of the NBN to an additional 1.6 million premises should it regain power at this year's election.
The enlarged footprint will increase the total number of homes and businesses across the country to be served by the fibre optic portion of the national broadband network from 90 per cent to 93 per cent. It will also cover 1.3 million new premises expected to be built by 2018.
The remaining 7 per cent of the nation will be served by a mix of satellite and wireless broadband services.
The amendment is just one from a raft of expected changes from a $25 million implementation study into the viability of the NBN.
It is not known if the fibre extension will have a material difference to the NBN’s $43 billion price tag, however the implementation study found that the increased fibre component would cost less to build than a wireless broadband substitute.
The NBN Co has been briefed on the changes to the fibre footprint and has confirmed that the network’s fibre reach will be increased to between 92 per cent to 93 per cent of the nation.
