The NBN rollout is picking up pace, with NBN Co today revealing the number of serviceable premises rose 35 per cent to 748,000 in the six months to the end of December.Of these, 322,000 were active, representing a rise of 53 per cent, with NBN Co stating it is on track to meet its full-year targets of one million serviceable premises and around 480,000 active end-users.
The 12-week rolling average for serviceable premises stood at 8,900 per week at December 2014, and in February this year was tracking at 10,200.
NBN Co’s half-year report showed it recorded a net loss after tax of $902 million, compared to a loss of $716 million in the previous corresponding period, with revenue of $64 million up from $22 million, driven by the increase in active premises and a $3 increase in average revenue per user to $39.
NBN Co’s capital expenditure for the period was $1.43 B, up 21 per cent year-on-year.
For the full year, NBN Co is targeting $150 million in revenue.
NBN Co figures reveal 19 per cent of NBN fixed-line users are on the highest speed 100 Mbps download and 40 Mbps upload plan.
The majority of NBN users are on lower speed plans, with 38 per cent of users on the 25/5 plan, and another 38 per cent on the 12/1 plan, with the rest of NBN users on either the 50/20 plan or 25/10 plan.
NBN Co stated it is on track with plans to progressively transfer copper and hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC) assets to the NBN, with fibre-to-the-building and fibre-to-the-node products remaining on course to be released this calendar year.
NBN Co expects to conduct a customer pilot of HFC technology before the end of the calendar year, ahead of a commercial launch in 2016.
