1.3 million more premises to hook up to national broadband network
The Federal Government has announced that it plans to connect a further 1.3 million homes and businesses to the national broadband network by 2016.
Minister Stephen Conroy at the NBN
It said that the total number of premises where NBN construction will commence or be complete by 30 June 2016 will be more than 4.8 million.
“We are connecting all households to the NBN for free because we believe all Australian households deserve access to the NBN's fast, reliable and affordable broadband,” the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Stephen Conroy said.
“There are already over 50,000 Australians using the NBN today, with NBN fibre construction commenced or complete for almost 1 million homes, businesses, schools and hospitals in over 80 communities across the country.”
He said the three year rollout aimed to roll the network out to every part of Australia.
"Our internet needs are growing and we simply can't rely on the ageing copper network that was designed for telephones, not high-speed broadband," Mr Conroy said.
"By the time today's Year 7 students finish high school, their household's internet needs will have increased six-fold – we need the NBN to meet our needs now and into the future."
"The NBN will transform the delivery of services across education, health care, aged care and allow us to harness our full potential as a digital economy."