New slower National Broadband Network to cost $30 billion more than Labor's previous plan

Australians will receive a slower and more expensive NBN under the new scheme. Source: News Limited

 

THE new national broadband network will deliver slower speeds and cost billions of dollars more than the Government had anticipated, it has been revealed. 

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull revealed there will be a $28.8 billion increase had had Labor's NBN proceeded without change.

The whole project when completed in 11 years time, and the NBN will not complete its first stage by 2016 as first predicted.

That means the Government won't be able to deliver its promise of everyone having access to at least 25mbps of broadband by 2016.

Mr Turnbull was delivering the findings of a 134-page report analysing Labor's scheme.

The review said the full cost of the Turnbull option would be $72.9 billion and not the initial estimate of $44.1 billion.

The cost difference comes from what NBN Co forecast under Labor, had the scheme gone ahead without change, and the spending analysis contained in the review Mr Turnbull released today.

The Government scheme also went up in price by $12 billion and Mr Turnbull blamed the slow progress under Labor for the extra cost.

Mr Turnbull said by 2019 nine out of 10 Australians will have access to download rates of at least 50mbps and some as much as 100 maps.

But the rollout of the network will not be completed until 2024.

Mr Turnbull said the review found "the NBN is in a fundamentally worse position than the Labor Government at any time disclosed to Parliament or the Australian public".

It also found;

• Three years into the rollout, it is two years behind schedule due to "an unrealistic assessment by key internal and external stakeholders of the complexity and time required to complete the task"

• The current NBN Corporate Plan over-estimates revenues up to 2021 by $13 billion

• Occupants of less than a quarter of established premises "passed'' by the NBN fibre network can order a service and be confident of receiving it in a reasonable and predictable time frame;

• NBN Co's persistent underperformance reflects "a lack of deep internal experience in complex infrastructure, construction projects and project management''

• Key decisions were taken "without appropriate commercial rigour and oversight''

• The company's internal culture is corrosive of performance: "A fear of being blamed for mistakes generated a lack of willingness to accept responsibility in some functional groups''

• NBN Co's previous leadership clung to unachievable Corporate Plan forecasts "notwithstanding clear factual evidence to the contrary''.

news.com.au  12 Dec 2013

Another corporate fraud staring in the face of Australians, in the hands of corrupt politicians, at the expense of the general populous, with not a hint of legal action.

 It seems quite clearly that corporate fraud is the best form of business in Australia, but not everyone is entitled to rip off the public.