Australia's NBN Co said it remains on track to complete the network by 2020 and it has lowered the high end of its expected peak funding requirement. In its corporate plan for 2017, NBN Co said it expects to complete the 8 million premises covered by 2020 and raised its forecast for annual revenue in 2020 to AUD 5 billion, with ARPU at AUD 52.
Already nearly two-thirds of all Australian premises are either in design, construction or able to order an NBN service. With a 126 percent growth in the number of end-users on its network in the past year, NBN's latest annual revenue surged 157 percent to AUD 421 million. In the current year it is expected to more than double again, to around AUD 900 million.
Strengthened relationships with partners, finalised contracts to the end of the network build and improved data allow the company to fix its cost assumptions for the period ahead and lower the projected peak funding. This led to a decrease in the top end of the peak funding range to AUD 46-54 billion, down from AUD 46-56 billion in the 2016 Corporate Plan.
The Australian government also updated its Statement of Expectations for NBN, to guide the company through to the completion of the project, with an increasing emphasis on the operation of the network that is more than one quarter complete. The updated statement highlights several priorities for NBN, including operating commercially, maintaining fiscal discipline, proactively working with stakeholders, managing risks and continuing transparency measures.
