NBN Co demonstrates solid progress during third quarter

NBN Co third-quarter results: 6.5 million premises ready to connect, 3.7 million active premises and $1.4 billion in total revenue.

Progress for the nine months of the fiscal year ended 31 March 2018:

• 6.5 million premises ready to connect to the nbn™ broadband access network, and 7.5 million premises ready for service.
• 3.7 million premises with an active service over the nbn™ access network.
• $1.4 billion total revenue: an increase of 112 per cent compared to 31 March 2017.
• Average Revenue Per User of $44 per month.

NBN Co has increased revenue to more than $1.4 billion for the nine months ended 31 March 2018 on the back of solid progress on construction, activations and customer experience improvements during the period.

The company prioritised a number of initiatives during the nine months to enhance end user experience, including optimisation work on Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) network, wholesale pricing offers and internal process improvements. These initiatives have helped NBN Co connect end users more effectively and significantly improve their broadband experience.

The company continued to make strong progress on its build and activation goals. The Multi-Technology Mix has enabled NBN Co to scale the network quickly, with 7.5 million premises now ready for service. The company is on track to complete 75 per cent of the build by the end of the calendar year.

A total of 6.5 million homes and businesses were declared ready to connect at 31 March 2018, representing an additional two million premises compared to the same time last year. Activations rose to a total of 3.7 million across the network, representing an additional 1.7 million more activations compared to 31 March 2017.

Growth in activations across the network helped revenue surge by 112 per cent to reach $1.4 billion in total for the nine months, supported by an Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) of $44.

Delivering customer experience improvements

NBN Co is delivering on its commitment to work with industry and retail service providers to improve the broadband experience for end users.

The company worked with internet providers to help reduce average bandwidth congestion across the nbn™ broadband access network, supporting higher speeds during busy periods. Average congestion has decreased from more than six hours a week per service in March 2017 to 18 minutes today.

Currently, 91 per cent of NBN Co equipment installations within the company’s control are achieved correctly at the first appointment. NBN Co is also connecting 93 per cent of all standard orders within the timeframes agreed with RSPs under the WBA. This compares to 85 per cent of equipment installations completed correctly first time and 88 per cent of connections within agreed timeframes in March 2017.

NBN Co Chief Executive, Bill Morrow, said:

“These results demonstrate the progress we’re making on our top three priorities, which are to complete the build by 2020, improve the end user experience, and deliver a modest return on the tax payer’s investment.

“We’ve shown stable performance against our long-term goals on the build side and significant improvements on customer experience.

“Our monthly progress report demonstrates that our customer experience program is working, and we know there’s more to do to get this right. The NBN Co team, delivery partners and RSPs are working quickly to make improvements across the industry for a better experience for all.”