Only Labor will finish the NBN and keep it in public hands

Families and businesses need high speed internet at an affordable price, and the Albanese Government will deliver that as we build Australia's future.

The Albanese Government will fund the upgrade of Australia's remaining national fibre-to-the node (FTTN) network through an equity injection of up to $3 billion, with NBN Co contributing more than $800 million to the project.

The Government will deliver this significant milestone while guaranteeing NBN Co will remain in public ownership.

Australians owning NBN Co is the best means of ensuring prices for high speed internet remain affordable for all Australians.

While the Albanese Government will complete the National Broadband Network (NBN) rollout, our political opponents want to strand Australians on ageing copper connections.

Given the opportunity, the Liberal and National parties will also privatise NBN Co. Peter Dutton made this clear when he instructed his Party to vote against Government legislation to keep the NBN Co in public hands in late 2024.

Fast, reliable, affordable internet is an essential building block of any modern economy. Connectivity boosts national productivity, enables innovation, and creates jobs.

Modelling by Accenture suggests the FTTN upgrade program will provide a $10.4 billion cumulative uplift in GDP over the next decade.

The modelling suggests individual households could save more than 100 hours and $2,580 per year in avoided travel time and costs from accessing faster broadband.

The new FTTN upgrades will deliver access to higher internet speeds for around 622,000 additional premises, with the upgrades delivered by 2030.

This landmark investment builds on the Albanese Government's $2.4 billion outlay for FTTN upgrades.

The Government has provided access to faster and more reliable broadband for 1.5 million premises across Australia, including 660,000 in rural and regional communities.

The upgrades are being delivered on time and budget.

When the upgrade program is complete, more than 94% of premises on the fixed line network - over 11 million homes and businesses - will have access to connections enabling speeds of up to 1 Gbps.

A small proportion of more complex premises will need to undergo further design analysis and may be upgraded through other technology solutions, offering speeds up to 400Mbps.

Quotes attributable to the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese:

"Keeping Australians connected at an affordable price is a vital national project. Rolling out high speed internet builds Australia's future.

"Labor built the NBN, just like we built Medicare and superannuation.

"Peter Dutton wants to dismantle it, just like he wants to undermine Medicare and other services Australians rely on."

Quotes attributable to the Minister for Finance, Katy Gallagher:

"The Albanese Government wants to ensure that every Australian, no matter where they live, has access to the tools and opportunities they need to succeed, including access to the highest quality broadband.

"This funding is necessary and unavoidable to address growing reliability and security issues caused by the opposition's costly decision to build a sub-standard network reliant on rapidly degrading copper. Removing copper from the FTTN network means we are finally building the NBN that was originally planned.

"Rolling out faster and more reliable internet is a key priority of this government, it's good for our economy, it's better for business, and helps to deliver stronger, more connected communities."

Quotes attributable to Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland:

"Fast and reliable broadband is essential infrastructure now, in 2025, and in the long term.

"That's why we're committed to working with NBN Co to finish the job of upgrading the network to give thousands more Australians access to world-class broadband speeds.

"This investment will see the final fibre to the node premises reap the benefits of faster broadband coming to 622,000 homes and businesses.

"On top of our previous $2.4 billion investment to support NBN Co's upgrade program and our promise to keep the NBN in public hands, this announcement shows our commitment to delivering a better NBN for Australians."

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