nbn co has released its Corporate Plan 2020-2023, confirming it is on schedule and on budget to complete construction of the NBN access network by 30 June 2020.
By the end of the 2020 financial year, 11.5 million homes and businesses are on track to be able to order a service on the NBN access network. At present, approximately 86 per cent of premises throughout Australia can now order an NBN service.
nbn co is also planning to activate an additional 1.5 million premises in the 2020 financial year, connecting a total of 7 million residential and business premises by the time the build is complete.
Commenting on the Corporate Plan 2020-2023 nbn co CEO, Stephen Rue, said he is proud of the progress made on the build to date.
“Construction of the nbn access network is a once-in-a-generation national infrastructure project. Very few, if any, infrastructure projects of this magnitude have ever been delivered in Australia and, after ten years of hard work and less than 10 months to go until our target completion date, I’m confident we’ll complete the build on time and on budget,” Mr Rue said.
“To date, NBN Co and its delivery partners have rolled out more than 280,000km of fibre-optic cable, repurposed and upgraded existing HFC (hybrid fibre coaxial connections) and copper technologies, built a Fixed Wireless network comprising some 2,200 towers and approximately 13,000 cells, and launched two satellites.”
Mr Rue said that with the completion of the network well in sight, now is the time to focus on how Australians in homes and businesses across the nation can get the most out of the NBN access network.
“Improving customer experience and satisfaction will remain the key driver in coming years as we complete the transition to become a full-scale service delivery organisation – and we will put customers at the centre of everything we do,” Mr Rue said.
nbn co has identified in-home wiring and Wi-Fi modem upgrades as two potential areas for further collaboration and co-investment with retail service providers (RSPs) to deliver significant improvements to the customer experience.
The company’s Corporate Plan 2020-23 also sets out nbn co’s strategic and financial priority to continue to develop a product and pricing portfolio that addresses customers’ diverse needs. nbn co said it is working to balance industry economics with creating a stable and sustainable business that will generate the future positive cash flow required to reinvest in the network.
Another key target area for nbn co in the future will be addressing and serving unconnected Australians. nbn co said it will continue to consult with industry on a new range of wholesale products and prices that will appeal to price-sensitive customers, while other discounts and new data inclusions will be aimed at supporting residential and business customers interested in upgrading to higher speed broadband plans.
The wholesale pricing consultation is ongoing and due to be completed in November 2019 when the final decisions and outcomes will be announced.
Looking at the near-term outlook, nbn co said it expects to fulfill the commitment to complete the build in 2020.
nbn co also said, as stated in its 2019 financial year results announcement, its network completion commitment excludes approximately 100,000 premises defined as ‘complex installations’, which includes properties that are difficult to access and some culturally significant areas and heritage sites.
nbn co will undertake ongoing activity at these sites and at greenfield residential and business development sites beyond 30 June 2020.
nbn co has amended its activations target within the Corporate Plan 2020-23, reducing the target from 7.5 million total activations to 7 million premises in the 2020 financial year.
nbn co said the reduced activation target is purely a timing issue around deployment and activations, with the Ready to Connect footprint coming later during the 2020 financial year than originally forecast.
There is no expected material change to the underlying performance of the business, and revenue is forecast to recover to expected levels in subsequent years.
