The national broadband network being built by NBN Co should be geared towards the digital future, Australian Greens NBN spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John says.
Instead, he said, there were only further delays to an already outdated system.
Senator Steele-John's statement comes in the wake of an announcement by NBN Co on Monday that there would be six to nine months' delay in providing connections over HFC cable due to network issues.
“Yesterday it was announced there would be up to nine months delays for customers slated to connect to the NBN via Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) to perform further testing," Senator Steele-John said.
{loadposition sam08}"In practice, this will mean those customers are simply waiting nine months longer for sub-standard connectivity,” .
He said the Turnbull Government must acknowledge the mixed-technology compromise using outdated fibre-to-the-node technology would cost far more in the long term and hamper Australians' capabilities relative to other countries.
“Access to the Internet is a human right, and fibre-to-the-premises technology is the only long-term solution to meet Australia’s current and future broadband needs," Senator Steele-John said.
“We have an opportunity to build a high-speed, national system that would raise Australia’s digital readiness and bring our speeds into line with world leaders such as South Korea and Japan.
“Australians are fed up with the NBN compromise and want access to a network that meets our current and future digital needs. The Australian Greens will continue to champion that right.”