Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

The agreement with Telstra means that the rollout of the NBN, as you have correctly identified from my statements yesterday, can be built on existing infrastructure, including Telstra’s network of ducts and facilities. This clearly means a reduction in civil engineering costs, which are usually a significant proportion of any rollout. NBN Co. will be able to maximise its use of underground cabling. This means there will be less overhead cabling by definition—substantially less. The agreement will also allow an orderly transition for Telstra’s customers—