Majority of NBN users still only want modest speeds.
While take-up of NBN services is moving ahead at rates in line with the company’s latest Corporate Plan, figures recently released show that most users are still taking up plans of 25 Mbps or less.
nbn released its first quarter 2017 results on 8 November, reporting strong progress against key measures. The firm had 3,231,389 premises ready for service at quarter end, 134% up on the same period for last year; and 1,378,273 premises activated, up 126% year-on-year.
Total revenue for the quarter was A$181 million, 148% up year-on-year.
But service take-up remains largely at the lower speed tier levels, with only 18% of services connected being at speed tiers above 25 Mbps.
The 25/10 Mbps package remains the most popular – not least perhaps because it is the entry level speed offered by the largest NBN retailer, Telstra. This speed tier accounted for 51% of all connections at the end of the quarter, while the 12/1 Mbps tier accounted for 31%.
nbn CEO Bill Morrow said the company was relaxed about the take-up pattern, pointing out that 25Mbps represented a big jump up in speeds for many users and arguing that it was generally adequate for many domestic users.
The fact remains, though, that the project’s business case, as currently structured, relies on subscribers progressively taking up higher tier services and to date this demand has not materialised.
