Australia NBN capex spending to surpass $50B by 2028

Spending on Australia's National Broadband Network will come with a hefty price of over AUD 50.3 billion (USD 50.2 billion) by 2028 with a slower return on investment.

This price tag, which is much steeper than the original projection of AUD 35.9 billion (USD 35.6 billion) by December 2020, was revealed by corporate advisors Greenhill Caliburn in a report to the Australian government, according to Telecompaper.

The report also said that the slower-than-expected buildout of digital video may "adversely impact" the number of users who would be served by the NBN in addition to overall customer ARPU for voice, video and data services.

Detractors of the NBN such as opposition communications spokesperson Malcolm Turnbull argue that the report illustrated that the "whole business case is premised on the very rapid take-up of high-definition video entertainment services for the simple reason that they are the applications which, above all, require very high-speed bandwidth."

Despite the issues raised in the report, Stephen Conroy, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, argued that the NBN will "deliver significant benefits to all Australians in the key areas of health delivery, educational services and new business opportunities."

For more:
- Telecompaper has this article

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