PRIME MINISTER
THE HON. MALCOLM TURNBULL MP
JOINT MEDIA RELEASE
26 September 2016
ONE YEAR OF FTTN ROLLOUT BRINGS NBN TO OVER 850,000 PREMISES
Just one year on from the launch of nbn’s fibre-to-the-node service, more than a quarter of a million Australian homes and businesses are now benefiting from high-speed broadband and 854,000 addresses can access the fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) and fibre-to-the building (FTTB) service.
With FTTN, nbn is rapidly building out its fixed line network – saving billions in construction costs, and making the connection process easy for residents. This technology will deliver fast broadband to 4.4 million addresses over the next two years.
Marking the 12-month anniversary at a Smeaton Grange nbn work site today, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said more than 90,000 Australian homes a month are now hooking up to the nbn across the technology range.
That compares to Labor’s record of just 51,000 paying customers connected on the NBN fixed network between July 2010 and September 2013.
“The wave of superfast broadband is accelerating across Australia,” said the Prime Minister. “On a monthly basis, tens of thousands of families and businesses are now able to fully access Australia’s new digital era for the first time.”
Over 3,200 homes and businesses have been made ready-for-service every working day, on average, in the year since the first commercial FTTN services launched.
Access to superfast broadband at affordable prices can be revolutionary for small businesses, households with students and people working from home.
“The nbn’s rapidly expanding footprint will help more local businesses connect to the global market place and assist students at home to achieve their educational goals,” said Minister Fifield, Minister for Communications and the Arts.
The nbn network was available to just one in 50 addresses when the Coalition came into government. Today, the nbn is available to more than a quarter of all Australian premises, growing to half of all Australian premises by 30 June 2017, and three-quarters of premises in 2018.
In Greater Western Sydney, the network passes more than 158,000 premises, and by September 2018 the nbn will be available or under construction to 455,000 homes and businesses across the region.
Nationally, nearly two thirds of all premises are in the design phase, under construction or ready for service.
Under the Coalition, the nbn is on schedule, ahead of its revenue forecasts, and has met key targets for nine consecutive quarters.