NBN Co cuts back targets in new construction plan

NBN Co has released details on which suburbs will receive fibre-to-the-premise connections under its revised 18-month construction plan, which has scaled back the number of premises forecast to be connected to the NBN by June 2016.

It’s the first detail offered on which regions will receive the national broadband network by June 2016 under the Coalition Government. End-users were left in limbo when NBN Co pulled details of its former three-year rollout plan from its website following last year's federal election.

The company today released the names of the 419 cities, suburbs and towns covering 1.9 million homes and businesses in line for the NBN by June 2016.

The former ALP Government had promised to connect 4.8 million premises by the same date in its last construction plan.

NBN Co declined to comment directly on why it had so dramatically reduced its targets.

A spokesperson said the 1.9 million premises announced today did not factor in HFC or the long-term satellite service (LTSS), which it expects to service around 400,000 users when it launches late next year.

The 1.9 million figure was in addition to works already commenced on 677,535 premises, the spokesperson said, which alongside the expected LTSS figure brought the total by June 2016 closer to 3 million premises.

NBN Co has a target of passing 8 million premises by 2020. 

Not so new

The 1.9 million premises named today were touted by NBN Co as "new builds", but the majority of the listed suburbs had already been slated to receive the NBN by June 2016 under the previous construction plan.

According to the new plan, in 18 months’ time NBN Co will have commenced rollouts in 81 “new” areas in Queensland, 44 areas in Tasmania, 112 NSW regions, 7 areas in the Northern Territory, 42 South Australian regions, 48 West Australian regions and 81 Victorian suburbs and towns.

But of the 81 regions announced today in Queensland, only 28 are new - as are only 38 of the 112 listed NSW locations.

Only one new suburb in South Australia - Lenswood - will receive the NBN under the new plan, as is the case in the ACT, while just two suburbs in WA - South Coogee and Herron - were not named in the last construction plan.

No new Tasmanian or Northern Territory suburbs will receive the NBN by June 2016.

An NBN Co spokesperson said some suburbs classified as “new” were extensions of an existing build.

“For example, in Wollongong we may be already building in the CBD but will continue to build out FSAMs in North and South Wollongong,” he said.

“We will announce the specific suburbs in our usual monthly construction refresh on the maps and provide further detail on the suburbs included in our quarterly construction forecasts.”

Read on to find out if you'll be one of the first to get fibre...

Will you get fibre?

The 419 towns and suburbs listed today will predominantly receive either fibre-to-the-node (FTTN), fibre-to-the-basement (FTTB) or wireless technology, NBN Co confirmed.

Eight regions in NSW - Blacktown, Campsie, Gosford, Homebush, Liverpool, Long Jetty, Mulgoa, and Tahmoor - will receive fibre-to-the-premise, while a further nine - Campbelltown, Corrimal, Dubbo, Maitland, Mayfield, Nowra-Bombaderry, Penrith, Richmond and Wollongong - will receive a mix of FTTP, fibre-to-the-node and fibre-to-the-basement.

In Victoria, seven regions - Ballarat, Footscray, Karingal, Keysborough, Melton, Mount Eliza and Werribee - will receive FTTP.  Shepparton and Wallan will receive a combination of FTTP and other broadband technologies.

The Queensland suburbs of Acacia Ridge, Aspley, Bundamba, Freshwater, Greenbank, Ipswich, Petrie, parts of Mackay, Nudgee and Townsville will receive FTTP, while Deeragun and Edge Hill will be given a mixture of FTTP, FTTB and FTTN.

Six regions in South Australia - Aldinga, Macclesfield, Port Augusta, parts of Port Elliot and Victor Harbor, and parts of Yankalilla - have been designated FTTP zones. St Marys and Gawler will receive FTTP and a mix of technologies.

Geraldton will be the only suburb in Western Australia to receive a mixture of FTTP and MTM, while South Perth, Victoria Park, Margaret River, Applecross and Mandurah will enjoy fibre-to-the-premise connections.

Hobart, Glenorchy and South Launceston in Tasmania will receive a mixture of FTTP, FTTN and FTTB, while Bellerive and Launceston will receive pure FTTP.

In the Northern Territory, Berrimah, Palmerston and Nightcliff will receive FTTP, as will Crace in the ACT, while Civic and Queanbeyan in that territory will receive a mix of technologies.

The official switch to the multi-technology mix NBN is still contingent on NBN Co re-signing its definitive agreements with Telstra and Optus.

NBN Co has previously said the contracts would be signed by Christmas, a forecast the company reaffirmed today.

A spokesperson said most of the rollout under the new plan in the first six months of 2015 would focus on fibre-to-the-premise and fixed wireless, with FTTN momentum building in the second half of the year.

The construction plan will be updated every quarter to reflect “ongoing variations brought about by process and technology improvements”, NBN Co said.

Earlier this month NBN Co confirmed that FTTN would become the default access technology for the majority of Australian premises.

The MTM NBN is likely to offer FTTN or FTTB to between 44 and 50 percent of premises in the fixed-line footprint, FTTP to between 20 and 26 percent of premises, and HFC for around 30 percent of homes and businesses.