NBN feels the need for speed as broadband demand outstrips supply By David Swan February 8, 2024 https://www.theage.com.au/technology/nbn-feels-the-need-for-speed-as-broadband-demand-outstrips-supply-20240208-p5f3cj.html
NBN Co boss Stephen Rue says demand for ultra-fast broadband is continuing to skyrocket, with the company receiving more orders for fibre upgrades than it can deliver. In its results for the six months to December 31 announced on Thursday, NBN Co said nearly 200,000 homes and businesses had taken advantage of a free upgrade to full-fibre NBN, with around 7000 customers per week placing fibre upgrade orders. NBN Co CEO Stephen Rue says he’s very pleased with the company’s latest results. Last week alone, the company upgraded 6000 premises, and it would have been able to do more if not for Queensland’s adverse weather conditions, Rue said. As its investments in the fibre upgrade program soared, NBN Co’s net loss ballooned for the half, widening to $696 million from a loss of $444 million a year earlier. The company is in the midst of a multi-year project to eliminate ageing copper infrastructure and replace it with fibre, targeting 10 million premises to have access to ultrafast speeds by the end of 2025. Around 8.4 million premises can currently access the ultrafast speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second, with remote work and online health and education fuelling demand. RELATED ARTICLES * NBN Co chief Stephen Rue says the network delivering on its promise of lifting Australia’s digital capability. * The NBN is set to boost the economy by $400b, but thousands have dumped it over the price * Streaming services like Netflix have helped fuel demand for ultrafast broadband. “Momentum has grown, and we have achieved critical mass on our full-fibre footprint in all states and territories,” Rue said on Thursday. “We completed 108,000 fibre upgrades in the six months to December 31, 2023 and this will continue to grow in the second half.” Capital expenditure jumped by 32 per cent year-on-year, which the company said was due to the fibre upgrade program, and NBN Co burned $1.1 billion in cash in the half, up from a $623 million cash outflow in the previous year. But management said it was still on track to meet the $5.3 billion to $5.5 billion in annual revenue forecast in its 2024 corporate plan. NBN Co booked total revenue of $2.75 billion for the December half, up 5 per cent compared to a year earlier, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were up 10 per cent to $1.99 billion. Average revenue per user, a crucial metric of the NBN’s viability, remained flat at $47 per month. Some 8.58 million homes and businesses were connected to the network as of December 31, 2023. “I’m very pleased with these results,” Rue said in an interview. “We continue to manage our operating expenditures as we said we would, and we continue to grow our connections. I’m really pleased with the ability of our team to deliver the upgrade capability in the fibre footprints, and we’re seeing that momentum in the upgrades. “And we’ve basically done what we need to do on the debt. That doesn’t mean we won’t continue to tap the market where we need to ... but we’ve got what we need to repay the government debt by June 30 [2024]. We’re on track for what we said we would do.” Analysts said the results were slightly ahead of forecasts. NBN Co booked total revenue of $2.75 billion for the December half, up 5 per cent compared to a year earlier. Moody’s Investor Service vice president Ian Chitterer said: “NBN’s results for the first half of fiscal 2024 were marginally above our expectations with EBITDA growth of 10 per cent. “We expect a slight improvement in NBN’s credit profile over the next 12 to 18 months as increasing EBITDA and operating cash flow are offset by high levels of capital spending to improve the network,” Chitterer said. “NBN’s available liquidity of $7.3 billion is a credit positive, as it alleviates refinancing risk related to the $5.5 billion outstanding under its Commonwealth loan maturing on 30 June 2024.” The company shed around 10 per cent of its workforce last June, axing around 500 roles that reduced staff expenses by $32 million to $297 million for the half. Rue did not rule out further cuts to the company’s headcount. “They were nothing surprising,” he said of the lay-offs. “They were flagged to our staff in advance. We’re now operating a business, a business of acquiring and retaining customers, but also managing the services we provide to them. You would have expected therefore the base of our employees to move as a result of that change. “In terms of the future we’ll continue to manage our business and manage our expenses very tightly going forward.” Generative AI would be increasingly used for network monitoring, connections and repairs, he added. Opposition communications spokesman David Coleman criticised the project’s roll-out under Labor. “Labor sees the NBN as just a vessel for hi-vis photo opportunities. But there is no plan to actually grow the enterprise. The $400 million deterioration in cashflow has been coupled with a 43,000 decline in customers outside of greenfield developments over the year,” he said. “So more and more taxpayer funds are being used, while at the same time more and more existing customers are leaving the network due to its high prices. Things are not going well under Minister Rowland.” The NBN is set to deliver a $400 billion boost to Australia’s economy by 2030, this masthead reported earlier this week, despite recent price rises for some customers. David Swan is the Technology Editor for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. He was previously Technology Editor for The Australian newspaper. _______________________________________________ Link mailing list [email protected] https://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link
