A parliamentary panel has recommended that the Coalition Government direct and enable the NBN Co, the company rolling out Australia's national broadband network, to complete as much of the remaining rollout as possible using fibre.
The joint standing committee on the National Broadband Network in its first report, issued on Friday, said NBN Co should use fibre-to-the-kerb (what NBN Co calls fibre-to-the-curb) or fibre-to-the-premises for the premises which are yet to be connected.
It also said that the NBN Co should be told to produce a plan that took these options into account and a timetable for how long it would take.
The committee comprises six Coalition parliamentarians, including chairperson Sussan Ley, seven Labor parliamentarians, one from the Greens, one from One Nation, one from Nick Xenophon's party, and one Independent.
{loadposition sam08}Ley dissented from the recommendation, saying: "While signing the committee's majority report in my capacity as chair, I and other government members on the committee do not agree with all of the conclusions and recommendations contained in the majority report."
The panel also recommended that the government commission an independent audit and assessment of the NBN Co's financial projections and business case set out in its plan for 2018-21.
A total of 23 recommendations were made by the panel.
Setting up a regional and remote reference group to support the NBN rollout in rural and remote areas was another recommendation made.