NBN Co expands rollout by 550k

NBN Co has earmarked a further 550,000 premises across Australia where work is to be started by September 2016.

It brings the targeted number of premises where work will commence by September next year to more than 3 million, as outlined last year in NBN Co's 18-month construction plan.

At its most recent financial results briefing, NBN Co had over 748,000 serviceable premises, with an average weekly run rate of 10,200.

It is targeting 1 million serviceable premises by the end of June, and 8 million passed premises by 2020.

The 550,000 premises announced today are spread across NSW, South Australia, Western Australia, Queensland and Victoria.

NBN Co did not detail the type of access technology the new premises would receive. It said the type of technology deployed would be confirmed once the construction planning stage was finalised.

It did, however, confirm that the current rollout schedule did not include hybrid-fibre coaxial or the long-term satellite.

Around 158,000 extra homes and businesses across 40 regions in NSW are expected to see NBN work start on their premise by next September.

Regions that have been added to the NBN rollout [pdf] include parts of Circular Quay, Wynyard, Castle Hill and St Leonards; Wagga Wagga and Griffith in the Riverina; and Bathurst in the Central West.

In Queensland, an extra 111,000 homes and businesses across 20 regions are targeted for work to start by next September.

The specific areas [pdf] include parts of outer western and south-western suburbs of Brisbane; outer regions of Townsville, Coolum and Noosa; the southern Gold Coast and areas around Toowoomba.

Residents of 147,000 premises in Victoria have been added to the list [pdf], including Exhibition in the Melbourne CBD and Lonsdale in Docklands; Portland in Barwon South West; Sale and Morwell in Gippsland; and inner Bendigo and Swan Hill in Loddon Mallee.

Parts of North Adelaide and Two Wells in Greater Adelaide and Bordertown; and Beachport and Mount Gambier on the Limestone Coast are amongst 66,000 premises across 35 regions in South Australia set to be added to the rollout [pdf].

And in Western Australia, work on bringing an extra 79,000 homes and businesses onto the NBN will begin before September next year.

New areas in WA include parts of Bassendean, Hilton and Kingsley in Greater Perth; Broome; and parts of the Goldfields-Esperance region [pdf].