LNP plugs NBN stats
After over a decade and $51 billion, the federal government says the National Broadband Network will be completed by next year.
The network is now accessible to three-quarters of Australian households, including 92 per cent of regional homes.
Five million households are now on the NBN.
The Coalition says its cut-price version of the NBN has added $1.2 billion to the economy and is expected to create up to 80,000 new businesses and 148,000 new digital jobs, boosting GDP by $10.4 billion by 2021.
If Labor wins the federal election in May, it has promised to have an “immediate” review on the economics of the NBN.
The ALP also wants to improve the in-home cabling of 750,000 fibre-to-the-node (FttN) customers for free.
“This process will also help inform judgements about the purpose of the NBN going forward, the price and quality dimensions in which competition occurs, and the market settings best suited to that purpose,” said Shadow Communications Minister Michelle Rowland.
Labor is planning a 'Digital Inclusion Drive' to connect over 1 million households, mostly older Australians and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
It has also promised to establish a $125 million program to reduce dropouts and improve speeds for 750,000 FttN households by fixing cabling issues for free, and an ‘NBN Service Guarantee’ that will overhaul service standards for small businesses.