NBN Co 2018 half year results: 6.1 million ready to connect, 3.4 million active services and $891 million in revenue.

Performance highlights for the six months ended 31 December 2017:

• 6.1 million premises ready to connect and 7.1 million premises ready for service.
• 3.4 million premises with an active service over the nbn™ access network, more than doubling year-on-year.
• $891 million in revenue, more than doubling year-on-year.
• Average revenue per user increased to $44 from $43.

NBN Co has more than doubled its first half revenue to $891 million after delivering strong results against construction and financial targets in one of the most significant deployment periods in the company’s history.

As at 31 December 2017, NBN Co declared 6.1 million premises ready to connect meaning more than one in two homes and businesses across Australia can now order a service over the nbn™ access network. The company also declared a total of 7.1 million premises ready for service.

Activations continued to grow with more than 940,000 new premises signing up to services over the nbn™ access network, with almost 3.4 million activated in total.

As activations grew across the network, revenue surged by 121 per cent from $403 million at 31 December 2016 to $891 million at 31 December 2017. Average revenue per user (ARPU) also grew 2 per cent to $44, up from $43.

Further company highlights include: positive results from the first Fibre-to-the-Curb (FTTC) customer trials, release of new satellite broadband packages and an increase in wholesale Sky Muster data limits, signing a new Wholesale Broadband Agreement with retail service providers to improve wholesale service quality, and announcing the future launch of G.fast technology to enable even faster speeds through the Multi-Technology Mix.

Focus on customer experience

The company is committed to improving the end user experience and launched a number of initiatives during the 2018 half year. Two significant decisions were made to improve experience for end users who are active on the nbn™ access network.

NBN Co announced discounts on its top-tier wholesale internet access plans in a move to encourage retailers to provide speeds to meet the needs and expectations of end users. The company is already seeing less congestion on the network and increased take-up of wholesale plans based on the 50/20 Mpbs speed tier.

In November 2017, the company also paused all activations on the HFC network to conduct necessary upgrades to improve quality of service. The pause on sales will be in effect until this fieldwork is complete.

These two initiatives form part of NBN Co’s broader program of activity targeting end user customer experience including: improvements to home and business installations, new fault detection and resolution processes, enhanced case management timelines with retailers, and additional support and management for business customers.

While customer experience is a priority, NBN Co remains on track to complete the initial build by 2020 and the peak funding forecast continues to be consistent with guidance provided in the Corporate Plan 2018.

NBN Co CEO Bill Morrow said:

“In the six months, we’ve delivered on some of our most ambitious targets that bring us closer to our 2020 goals. As at 31 December 2017, more than 95 per cent of households and businesses are in design, construction or are already able to order a service over the nbn™ access network.

“While that is success we can be proud of, we’ve demonstrated that we won’t pursue those objectives singlemindedly at the expense of customer experience.

“We have a strong program of activity in place, and we made some significant decisions last year to prioritise the experience of end users on the network. In partnership with retail providers, we are confident that we will get this right.

“We have shown our ability to deliver on the build side. We are applying that same focus to ensuring we work with industry to deliver a better internet experience for all Australians.”