$183M in two new contracts to beef-up Greenfield deployment

NBN Co has awarded contracts with a total value of approximately $183million over 19 months to Visionstream Pty Ltd and Service Stream Ltd to provide additional rollout capacity and support a new approach to the management of fibre deployment in new estates.

Visionstream has been awarded a contract with an estimated value of $102million for the design and construction of fibre in new developments in Victoria and Queensland, while Service Stream has been awarded a contract with an estimated value of $81 million for contracted works in NSW, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

Based on an improved understanding of the market and industry feedback, NBN Co has structured these contracts to help accelerate construction across the different rollout segments - construction of the local network through the streets in new estates, development of local fibre nodes to which services will be connected, and construction of the major links between new developments and the rest of the network (transit links).

NBN Co CEO Mike Quigley said the changes are designed to leverage and to more closely align the greenfields rollout with construction processes in the remainder of the rollout to existing premises.

“There is no doubt that the fibre rollout in new developments is a massive undertaking and one of the biggest challenges for NBN Co. We have received requests from developers for works covering 123,000 lots in almost 2400 locations since we assumed responsibility as the provider of last resort less than 18 month ago.

“Up until now we have contracted out the management of the end-to-end process of the rollout of fibre to new estates. This made sense at the time as we had no existing network to connect new customers to. Each application had to be designed and built individually. Now we have brownfields rollout work underway in every state and territory and we are working to complete the national transit network over the next three years.

“The timing is now right to move to a different structure that gives us greater flexibility, control and potential synergies with the wider brownfields rollout.

“We have been working closely with developers to ensure they are well informed about our progress in working to meet their needs. We are pleased with the high level of support they have shown for the rollout, particularly the way they see the NBN as a means of promoting their estates as getting ready for the technology people will need for the future,” Mr Quigley said.

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Notes to Editors

• NBN Co is the provider of last resort for fibre in new developments with more than 100 lots over three years approved after 1 January 2011. NBN Co may also supply fibre to smaller estates where they fall within the existing rollout footprint.
• NBN Co signed a 12-month contract with Fujitsu last year for the management of the end-to-end greenfields installation process. In February that contract was extended for a further 12 months with work to continue on existing projects, particularly within estates.
• NBN Co is a wholesale network operator which does not supply services direct to the public. Home and business owners need to first contact a telephone or internet service provider to select a plan and order a service. The service provider will organise the final connection and installation of equipment in their customers' homes and businesses.
• For more information visit www.nbnco.com.au/newdevelopments

* NBN Co is designing the NBN to be capable of delivering these speeds to NBN Co's wholesale customers (telephone and internet service providers). Speeds actually achieved by retail customers (end users) will depend on a number of factors including the quality of their equipment and in-premises connection, the broadband plans offered by their service provider and how their service provider designs its network to cater for multiple end users.

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