Labor welcomes steps by Telstra to compensate 42,000 consumers who have been sold a speed which Turnbull’s copper NBN cannot support.

“Today’s developments are a stunning rebuke to the second-rate technology decisions Turnbull has imposed on the nation,” Ms Rowland said. 

“The copper NBN has been exposed as a dud.” 

“It’s a tragedy that Turnbull is spending $50 billion of taxpayers’ money on a second-rate network that is denying consumers the speeds they are willing to pay for,” Mr Jones said. 

The figures released by the ACCC paint a shocking picture — 56 per cent of consumers who had been sold a 100 Mbps plan were on a copper connection that was not fit for purpose. 

These revelations make a complete mockery of Turnbull’s judgement when it comes to “engineering and economics”. 

Labor has consistently led calls for more transparent disclosure of maximum attainable speeds on the copper NBN, yet the Minister has turned a blind eye and NBN has refused to make its speed database public. 

The inability to sell faster speed tiers means NBNCo will become increasingly dependent on CVC as a lever to meet its revenue targets. 

NBN must immediately issue guidance on what impact these regulatory developments will have on the long-term economics of its business case. 

It is no surprise that discussion has now turned to new taxes and protections to prop up Turnbull’s second-rate NBN. 

Labor will continue to fight to ensure consumers on the NBN get a better deal.

Australians deserve a real broadband network that delivers the speeds and reliability they need for their businesses, education and a truly digitally enabled society.