NBN Co Limited Corporate Plan 2020-23 Plan Corporate Corporate Plan 2020–23 Legal Notice Introduction Disclaimer The Corporate Plan 2020–23 has been This plan contains various long-range plans, prepared by NBN Co Limited (NBN Co) for its projections, high-level estimates and other shareholder ministers, the Hon Paul Fletcher forward-looking information (Estimates). and Senator the Hon Mathias Cormann Those Estimates are based on the best (Shareholder Ministers) as required by the considered professional assessment of Public Governance, Performance and present economic and operating conditions, Accountability Act 2013 (Cth) (PGPA Act) present Commonwealth Government policy, (in particular section 95(1) (b) of the PGPA and a number of assumptions regarding future Act), the Public Governance, Performance events and actions, which, at the date of this and Accountability Rule 2014 (Cth) (PGPA document, are expected to take place. Rule), the Commonwealth Government The Estimates involve known and unknown Business Enterprise Governance and risks, uncertainties and other factors beyond Oversight Guidelines (January 2018) (GBE control that may cause NBN Co’s actual Guidelines) and Australian Government results, performance or achievements to be policy as communicated to NBN Co by the materially different from any future results, Commonwealth from time to time (together, performance or achievements expressed or Reporting Obligations). implied by the Estimates. The reporting periods covered by this While the Estimates are based on the best plan are FY20 to FY23 inclusive. The first considered professional assessment, the reporting period covered by this plan is FY20. Management team and officers (as defined The fourth, and the last, reporting period in the Corporations Act) of NBN Co does covered by this plan is FY23. not give any guarantee or assurance to any third party that the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the Estimates will actually occur, and the Estimates should not be relied on or considered to be a representation of what will happen by any third party. Other than required according to Reporting Obligations, NBN Co and its officers have no obligation to update the Estimates based on circumstances, developments or events occurring after the publication date of this document. This plan also contains Estimates in respect to periods after 30 June 2023, including in the long-term financial outlook section. Management and the Board do not give any guarantee or assurance that the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such Estimates will actually occur. © 2019 NBN Co Limited. ‘nbn’, ‘bring it on’, ‘Sky Muster’, ‘gen nbn’ and the Aurora device are trademarks of NBN Co Ltd. © 2019 NBN Co Ltd. ABN 86 136 533 741 Contents Part A Part B Overview Plan Summary About NBN Co 3 Plan summary 46 Who we are 3 Operational and financial forecasts 48 Delivering on our commitment 4 Ready to connect and activations 49 Board and Management message 6 Revenue and ARPU 50 FY19 Key achievements 10 Operating expenses and subscriber payments 51 Our future focus 12 Cost per Premises 52 Customer experience strategy 14 Peak funding and sensitivities 54 Business segment strategy 20 Sources of funding 54 Lifting Australia’s digital capability 22 Long-term financial outlook 55 Maintaining progress and meeting Subsidiaries 55 future expectations 22 Risk management 56 Australia’s data demand 24 Australia’s data usage 26 Additional footnotes 60 Driving penetration through Glossary 62 industry collaboration 28 Future technology roadmap 29 Social and economic benefits 34 Commitment to underserved areas 38 Commitment to regional Australia 39 Building a high-performing workforce 40 Diversity and inclusion 41 Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) 42 Board of Directors and NBN Co Management team 44 1 Overview NBN Co Corporate Plan 2020–23 2 About NBN Co About NBN Co Who we are NBN Co is the company building and operating the nation’s wholesale, local access broadband network. By providing access to fast, reliable and affordable broadband services, NBN Co is helping Australian homes and businesses realise the social and economic benefits that high-speed broadband can unlock. NBN Co’s purpose is to lift the digital As the network wholesaler, NBN Co provides capability of Australia. access to all Retail Service Providers (RSPs) NBN Co is accountable to the Commonwealth on a non-discriminatory basis. This approach Government and is working to deliver a is intended to level the playing field in the National Broadband Network that meets the Australian telecommunications industry, government’s Statement of Expectations1, enhancing competition and providing 3 24 August 2016. greater choice for customers across the country. It is through RSPs that customers The Company is working to complete the connect to the nbn™ network for access to network build and ensure that all Australians high-speed internet. have access to fast broadband as soon as possible, at affordable prices, and at least NBN Co is delivering high-speed broadband cost to taxpayers. to customers across Australia over an area of more than seven million square kilometres. In addition to building and maintaining a The Company is committed to working with network that is resilient and secure, NBN Co Delivery Partners, RSPs and stakeholder is committed to delivering access to peak groups to help more Australians use the wholesale download speeds of at least network to drive positive benefits for 25 megabits per second (Mbps) to all themselves and their communities. premises, and at least 50Mbps to 90 per cent of the fixed-line premises2. NBN Co will ensure that upgrade paths are available for the network’s multi-technology mix as required. 1 https://www.communications.gov.au/publications/nbnstatementofexpectations 2 This will be achieved at the end of co-existence, which refers to the period where there are active Telstra services running over the parts of the legacy Telstra network that NBN Co has acquired from Telstra. 3 Final downstream customers to NBN Co’s Retail Service Providers (RSPs). 3 Overview NBN Co Corporate Plan 2020–23 Delivering on our commitment 1 2 NBN Co’s purpose What are NBN Co’s goals? To lift the Complete the build by 1 digital 30 June 2020 capability Enhance the network of Australia capability over time to meet the growing and diverse needs of Australian homes and businesses 1 NBN Co’s build completion commitment is that all standard installation premises in Australia are able to connect to the nbn™ access network as at the build completion date. This excludes premises in future new developments which will be an ongoing activity for the Company beyond the build completion date. It also excludes a small proportion of premises defined as ‘complex connections’ – which includes properties that are difficult to access, culturally significant areas and heritage sites – where connection depends on factors outside of NBN Co’s control such as permission from traditional owners, and where network construction to allow such premises to connect will be an ongoing activity of NBN Co beyond the build completion date. 4 Delivering on our commitment 3 4 What are NBN Co’s Supported by priorities? Ensure all Australians have 1 access to high-speed, resilient 6,400 and secure broadband NBN Co staff Keep NBN Co a great place to More than 100 work, underpinned by a customer-led culture Retail Service Providers selling services over the Deliver a customer experience TM that drives satisfaction, use and nbn access network preference network Develop a product and pricing portfolio that addresses our customers’ diverse needs Strengthen relationships with government, industry and community to optimise customer benefits Build capabilities for the future and grow profitability toenable re-investment to benefit our customers 1 This figure includes NBN Co employees and contractors. 5 Overview NBN Co Corporate Plan 2020–23 Board and Management message Construction of the nbn™ Secondly, we need to work with the telecommunications industry to create the access network is one of the right conditions that will allow us all to thrive largest infrastructure projects and prosper in the long term. For NBN Co, this means reaching a positive annual cash ever undertaken in our flow, anticipated to be from FY23, so we can nation’s history, one that continue to reinvest in our network, our business and our products as technology and aims to lift Australia’s digital customer needs change in the decade ahead. capability by fundamentally And most importantly – we need to ensure changing the way we learn, that we deliver the best possible experience do business and connect for customers once they are connected to services over the nbn™ access network and with each other. increasingly incorporate online experiences into their daily lives. To date, NBN Co and its Delivery Ten years since the formation of the National Partners have rolled out more than Broadband Network was first announced, 280,000 kilometres of fibre-optic cable we can proudly say that we have made across Australia, and re-purposed and extraordinary progress, but with lots of upgraded existing Hybrid Fibre Coaxial heavy lifting still ahead, as we strive to (HFC) and copper technologies, bringing meet these objectives. fast broadband at scale to many parts of metropolitan Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Progress Adelaide and Perth. The company has built Over the last 12 months we have seen a Fixed Wireless network comprising some improving customer service yield good results. 2,200 towers and approximately We have improved the connection and service 13,000 cells, providing coverage of quality of our HFC network, scaled the rollout approximately 250,000 square kilometres, of our Fibre-to-the-Curb (FTTC) network, as well as launching two satellites which launched wholesale products designed for overlook seven million square kilometres businesses that are capable of delivering of this great continent.