Digital Government Innovation

NBN Co to be guided by a new Statement of Expectations

Eliza Sayon Aug 31, 2021

2 min read

Now that NBN Co has completed its initial roll-out and is now fully operational, the Australian Government has released a new Statement of Expectations to help guide the broadband network.

Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts Paul Fletcher said that, under the new Statement, the NBN Co had clear objectives: to maximise the social and economic benefits of the network and support Australia’s becoming a leading digital economy by 2030.

“NBN Co is moving into a new phase, with the rollout complete, and its increasingly strong financial results mean that retained earnings can be directed into further enhancing the digital capability of Australia,” Minister Fletcher said.

“The Government expects that NBN Co takes a demand-driven approach in making commercially sound investments to meet the current and future needs of Australian households and businesses, wherever they live.”

Aside from the expectation of making commercially sound investments, the new Statement of Expectations also focuses strongly on NBN Co’s ongoing role in the following:

improving outcomes in regional and remote Australia;
supporting retailers to deliver affordable, reliable and resilient services to consumers; and
promoting competition and innovation.

The Government also welcomed NBN Co’s recently released Corporate Plan as it responds to the new Statement.

Minister for Finance Simon Birmingham said the Corporate Plan laid out by the NBN Co would provide a sound transition to their operational phase.

“The company will focus on growing its revenues, reducing costs, and allow for ongoing investment in the network to meet the changing needs of households and businesses,” Minister Birmingham said.

“This will empower the NBN Co to continue providing Australians with access to a fast, reliable broadband network, at the least possible cost to the taxpayer.”

The new Statement of Expectations significantly sets out the Australian Government’s expectations of accountability by the company’s Board to meet the highest standards of transparency and governance for corporate and government-owned entities.

The Ministers also welcomed the announcement of an additional 300,000 homes and businesses which will be able to access ultrafast internet speeds of up to 1 Gbps.

This is further delivers on NBN Co’s commitment that two million premises presently on the fibre to the node footprint will be able to order a service of up to 1Gbps by 2023.

This commitment was part of the $4.5 billion network investment plan announced last year.

SOURCE: MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS, URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE, CITIES AND THE ARTS MEDIA RELEASE

Eliza Sayon

Website | + posts

Eliza is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum. She is an experienced writer on topics related to the government and to the public, as well as stories that uplift and improve the community.