Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

No, the shareholder ministers did not write to nbn co seeking anything that was distorted. The government asked nbn co to analyse a switch to an all fibre-to-the-premises rollout. The government expects that nbn co should periodically consider the best mix of technologies to roll out fast broadband as quickly as possible and at least cost. Nbn co agreed to the request and included the results of its independent analysis in its 2016 corporate plan. Nbn co has confirmed that the technology mix in its 2016 corporate plan is the most cost- and time-efficient means of completing the network. The company found that switching to an all fibre-to-the-premises rollout would mean that the network would not be completed until 2026, but possibly as late 2028, with a peak funding requirement of between $74 billion and $84 billion. This contrasts with the multitechnology mixed model, which will see the network completed by 2020, with the base case estimate for peak funding at $49 billion. Nbn co's consideration of an all fibre-to-the-premises scenario provides a point of comparison against which to evaluate the mixed technology approach. It is important for all policy decisions regarding the NBN to be informed by the rollout experience, technology developments and market knowledge which the company can draw upon, having now rolled out the network, under the coalition's watch, to more than one million premises, which is, indeed, good news.