Reports say the Turnbull government is looking to sell large chunks of the government-owned National Broadband Network.

Fairfax media reporters say the government has been in talks with the big telecom companies about selling its hybrid fibre cable, copper and fixed wireless networks when the NBN project is complete.

If the alleged plans go ahead, it would be the biggest privatisation since the Howard government sold Telstra.

Industry insiders say the government wants to offload large parts of the Labor-created NBN operation during 2017, if the Coalition wins the next federal election.

Telstra has been suggested as the most likely bidder for the bulk of the NBN assets, and could even buy back its now upgraded copper network, which it was obliged to sell to NBN.

Insiders have told Fairfax that there are “two separate conversations going on”, including one where a large part of the NBN network would be sold for as low as $20 billion, a massive loss for the government.

There has been no official word on any deal yet, though NBN chairman Ziggy Switkowski did concede in November that it would take a “heroic” effort for the project to be rolled out to to more than 11 million homes before the 2020 deadline.

The government had earlier described the target as “achievable”.

Dr Switkowski said the increase in construction needed to get the country's largest and most expensive infrastructure project to people’s homes would be risky.

The NBN is in a critical acceleration phase in its construction, but if the reported sale plans do become official, it would radically change the outlook for NBN.

Meanwhile, up to 700 new jobs will be created at a new NBN cyber security headquarters in Melbourne, the Victorian Government says.

ICT specialists will be brought in to work at a 24-hour centre at the Docklands.

Their main task will be to protect the NBN from cyber attack.

Proponents say the move will create 400 tech jobs over the next two years, as well as 300 for construction and maintenance.

Victoria's Small Business Minister Philip Dalidakis won’t say how much it to get the big NBN deal, other than to say it was money well spent.

“We make no apologies for being aggressive in the marketplace to land those jobs and those companies that are going to hold in good stead Melbourne and Victoria's position as the number one IT destination,” he said.

“The number one tech, the number one digital destination, the number one destination for start-ups.”