Construction is set to connect another 2700 homes and business in Launceston to the NBN network via FTTP (Fibre-To-The-Premises).
The NBN Co’s plan for rollout includes parts of Kings Meadows, Prospect Summerhill and South Launceston.
Using alternate NBN technologies, construction may also start in Swansea and Lilydale so that they may also be connected.
Andrew Nikolic, Bass Liberal MHR, was thrilled to hear the news.
According to him, 10,000 premises have already passed in Launceston, with another 26,000 currently in construction for NBN Broadband.
“There is no town in Australia of Launceston’s size that will be fully fibred up so quickly,” Nikolic said.
However, there is no excitement from the union representing Tasmanina subcontractors working on the NBN rollout.
The rollout had become a confusing mess, according to Emma Gill of the Communicators, Electrical and Plumbing Union.
Gill said that the problem lies in the fact that the contract work is too often subcontracted out, as much as two, three, four times down the line.
“They’re welcome to keep announcing new rollout areas, but I don’t hold out hope the work will be done any faster than it has been,” Gill said.
A completion date will not be drawn by the federal government in Tasmania. But according to Communications Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, by 2020, the network would be completed nationwide.