NBN to be 50% complete by mid-year

The NBN rollout is on track to reach nearly 50% completion by the end of the current financial year, passing 5.4 million homes and businesses by 30 June.

According to nbn, the pace of the network build-out is accelerating, with 277,000 premises added to the footprint in the last month alone.

By June 2018, the total NBN footprint is expected to expand to 9 million homes, and the build is expected to be completed by 2020.

While to date more than 70% of the rollout has been completed in regional and rural areas, over the next 12 months more construction will commence in metropolitan areas — including Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. This will mark a significant boost to both the number of people who can access the network and potential revenues.

“We have developed strong foundations, processes and systems, and this year we will be opening up the [NBN] to new regions, including many metro areas for the first time,” nbn CEO Bill Morrow 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.”

New challenges the company will be facing include the increased difficulty of accessing existing cable pits and infrastructure. The complexity of the rollout could lead to disruption from civil works in cities, Morrow warned.

“We understand there will be some disruption for residents and business owners as the 14,000 people working across the 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.”

Image courtesy of Alan Levine under CC

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook