Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has promised a $3 billion funding boost to the National Broadband Network to “finish” the project and speed up internet service.
The funding will look to upgrade fibre-to-the-node connections, providing an additional 622,000 new fibre connections with over half of these in regional and rural areas.
"Labor created the National Broadband Network, and only Labor will finish the NBN," Albanese said.
The communications minister Michelle Rowland, who was present with Albanese, also said she and the government would “not be lectured” to when it came to the cost of the NBN.
This multi-billion dollar “equity injection” also aims to keep the NBN in public ownership, and NBN itself will also contribute more than $800m to the project.
NBN Co chief executive Ellie Sweeney said today the average household consumed about 10 times more data than it did when the NBN was built, and it was an essential part of work and life calling the funding “the final piece in the puzzle”.
"Today's announcement will mean access to faster and more reliable internet for millions of Australians.” she said.