We’re switching to NBN faster than expected: 2.4 million homes connected

Every single home in Australia has to switch to the NBN if they want a fixed phone line or fixed broadband service, and while we have 18 months to do that after the NBN is at our homes, it turns out Aussies are getting on board earlier than expected.

18 months is a long time to wait, and while many are skeptical of the process and outcomes, it turns out the majority of Aussie homes are being connected within the first six months of the service being available.

The NBN is now available in 5.7 million homes, with 2.4 million actually connected – and for those looking for a return on their taxpayer funded investment, revenue was $1 billion in the 2016/17 financial year.

When it comes to the revenue per user, the NBN full year financial results show NBN’s average per connection remained at $43, which gives you an indication of the margins possible for the telcos per user which they then need to use to fund their own networks and NBN interconnectivity.

For those in the bush, or outside Metro areas, the network is two thirds complete, demonstrating the priority given to the areas least likely to have gotten telco investment over the years.

NBN CEO Bill Morrow was pleased with the results, “The momentum has seen the team deliver a record 140,000 premises to the footprint in one week, putting us clearly at the centre of our peak construction period.  Our delivery partners and nbn employees have worked tirelessly to reach this incredible pace,” he said.

“Looking ahead, FY2018 is another significant construction year, and arguably the most visible and difficult as we rollout in high-density cities.  We are taking our learnings from the first half of the build, and applying them to ensure greater serviceability and efficiencies, particularly as we introduce Fibre-to-the-Curb into the mix,” said Mr Morrow.

The challenges aren’t going away for NBN though, with tens of thousands of homes connecting every week and a mix of telcos providing the service and booking NBN installations we can expect more stories of good and bad with another few years of construction still to come.