Overview: The National Broadband Network (NBN) in Australia

The National Broadband Network (NBN) is a key nation-building project that will:

• deliver significant improvements in broadband services for all Australians at affordable prices
• support a new wave of digital innovation that will change and improve the way Australians live their lives, receive services and connect with the world
• help drive Australia’s productivity
• transform service delivery in key areas such as health, education and energy
• connect our big cities, regional centers and rural communities
• reform the structure of Australia’s telecommunications sector to the benefit of all Australians.

The Australian Government has established NBN Co Limited to build and operate the wholesale only, open access NBN.

Coverage targets

• 93 per cent of Australian premises will have access to a high-speed fibre network providing broadband speeds of up to 100 megabits per second, with capability to provide speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second.
• 7 per cent of Australian premises will have access to next-generation wireless and satellite technology providing peak speeds of at least 12 megabits per second.
• Every community in Australia—metropolitan, regional, rural and remote—will have access to affordable high-speed broadband services. The NBN has achieved uniform national entry level pricing across technologies, and where new technologies become available this principle will be applied where possible.

Rural and regional prioritisation

On 7 September 2010, the government entered into the ‘Commitment to Regional Australia’ with two independent Members of Parliament: the Member for New England, Mr Tony Windsor MP and the Member for Lyne, Mr Rob Oakeshott MP.

Under that agreement, the government committed to ensuring uniform national wholesale prices so that broadband prices will be the same for households and business regardless of where they are located in Australia.  The government also committed to build fiber in regional areas as a priority, and to fast-track the introduction of wireless and satellite services so that regional Australia can get access to better broadband as soon as possible.

For regional Australia the NBN provides unprecedented opportunities for businesses to overcome the tyranny of distance and connect to distant markets, and for communities to connect to the world through high-speed broadband.