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NBN will cost $35.7 billion, not $43 billion

Change of price tag comes as Government gets pressured into releasing business case summary

The National Broadband Network will cost $35.7 billion and not the $43b previously quoted, according to the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and NBN Co’s business case.

In October, Communications Minister, Senator Stephen Conroy, indicated the Governemnt's $11 billion non-binding agreement with Telstra would save the NBN up to $6 billion.

“The total capital expenditure is $35.7 billion, that is obviously less than the capital expenditure previously publicly released,” she said. “That difference is overwhelmingly explained by the agreement with Telstra and the ability therefore to get access to Telstra infrastructure for the rollout so this is very significant information.”

The announcement was made in Canberra during a press event in which the Prime Minister announced a 36-page summary of NBN Co’s business case would be released prior to a vote on Telstra’s structural separation.

“The document goes to the timeline of the sorts of products that people will be able to get through the National Broadband Network,” she added. “The document confirms that under all sensitivity assumptions and all assumptions about the points of interconnect decision that the rate of return is in excess of the Government bond rate.

“The project is financially viable.”

Nominations for the 2012 ARN IT Industry Awards open on Tuesday, June 12.

More about: etwork, Federal Government, Telstra
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Comments

1

David

Wed 24/11/2010 - 15:13

Of course the project is financially viable, it will be funded by taxpayers. The question the Prime Minister has still not answered is it cost justified. The fact is it is not, and just to put something in for the sake of putting it in is not acceptiable

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