THE National Broadband Network is aiming to be almost 50 per cent complete by June 30 2017.
The build has been accelerated, with 277,000 homes added to the footprint in the last month and the number of people able to connect will expand to 9 million homes by June 2018, with the end of the rollout then in sight.
NBN chief executive officer Bill Morrow said the half way point would be significant as they aimed to finish the build by 2020 and become the first fully-connected continent in the world.
“We have developed strong foundations, processes and systems, and this year we will be opening up the NBN network to new regions, including many metro areas for the first time,” he said.
“The intensified deployment will present challenges but the NBN team, along with our partners and retailers, is focused on a positive experience for customers and end users as we accelerate the build and connection rates to new records.”
Mr Morrow said as the network rolled out into cities, new problems would need to be solved.
“We understand there will be some disruption for residents and business owners as the 14,000 people working across NBN and our delivery partners complete the task as soon as possible,” he said.
“The payoff will be worth it, with universal connectivity delivering health, commerce, education and lifestyle benefits to all Australians.”
In SA, NBN corporate affairs manager SA and NT Jill Bottrall hoped the rollout would be completed by 2019, a year ahead the initial plan.
“Seventy per cent of what we’ve rolled out has been in regional areas, and in terms of rural versus metropolitan, rural areas came first,” she said.
- Details: nbn.com.au
