NBN Co will have 22,000 premises still awaiting infrastructure after this year

NBN Co is now forecasting it will only have around 21,800 brownfields premises unable to connect to its network post-2020.

The company today provided more detail about the estimated 100,000 premises that it deemed too difficult to complete the build for by the end of June this year.

The number is now closer to 109,000, but NBN Co is now forecasting build completion for “approximately 80 percent of these premises” by the end of 2020.

The 109,000 comprises three tranches of work.

The largest portion of premises - about 67,000 - fit the existing description of “complex builds in difficult to access locations, heritage and culturally significant sites.”

NBN Co said it is making headway on these and “has successfully connected many of these premises”.

The next largest slice of the 109,000 is 25,000 premises that NBN Co said had now been incorporated “in new development sites”.

It’s unclear exactly what this means - iTnews was seeking clarification at the time of publication - however it appears that these may be premises on urban fringes that will now be connected to infrastructure deployed at a nearby new housing estate.

What this means for access technology and timeline isn’t clear.

For the final 17,000 premises, NBN Co said it will now “redesign and construct alternative technology solutions” for them.

NBN Co said these premises “were previously designated to receive fixed wireless services. These premises will now be redesigned and connected to the NBN primarily by FTTC technology.”

The premises will almost certainly be better off in the fixed-line footprint. However, they were likely in the wireless footprint for cost reasons, and so it is unclear how moving them to FTTC will impact the economics of that part of the build.

In early June, the company shifted around 42,000 premises designated to receive fixed wireless into its fixed-line and satellite footprints instead after being unable to secure land or support to build new towers.

It’s understood that the 17,000 premises discussed today that moving from fixed wireless to FTTC are part of that previous 42,000 figure.