The Australian government has unveiled more details about its National Broadband Network (NBN) project.
In a statement, it explained the project will be funded with debt and equity, with the government expected to contribute A$27.5bn in equity for the…
The Australian government has unveiled more details about its National Broadband Network (NBN) project.
In a statement, it explained the project will be funded with debt and equity, with the government expected to contribute A$27.5bn in equity for the rollout. NBN will also borrow A$13.4bn from financial markets between 2015 and 2021.
The government estimates that the new fibre network, which aims to have passed 1.7 million premises by June 2013, will deliver an internal rate of return of 7.04 percent.
In the meantime, NBN hopes to conclude a A$11bn deal with incumbent Telstra over the use of its existing fixed line infrastructure by January.
Earlier this year, Telstra signed a nonbinding agreement to participate in the rollout. Under the terms of the agreement, NBN will pay Telstra about A$11bn in phased payments in return for the decommissioning of Telstra’s copper network and the transfer of its customers to a new fibre-optic network, in order to encourage competition.
At the end of November, the Australian parliament finally approved the bill to split Telstra, paving the way for the NBN rollout.
