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

Developers can choose whichever carrier they like to install fibre. But if they do not wish to choose another carrier, NBN Co. has a responsibility to provide a solution. NBN Co. is already the provider of last resort for larger developments greater than 100 lots where it has fibre and for developments in rollout regions where it has indicated that it will be rolling out fibre in the following 12 months.

Telstra plays this role in smaller developments pending NBN Co.'s arrival. In this context, this role relates to providing infrastructure in new developments. If a developer does not wish to use another provider, the developer can go to NBN Co., which must provide infrastructure in areas for which NBN Co. is responsible. The process by which NBN Co. provides infrastructure is set out in detail on NBN Co.'s website. NBN Co. has published a simple flow chart for developers. Basically, developers lodge applications for eligible developments via NBN Co.'s web portal. NBN Co. requires applications to be submitted at least three months before infrastructure needs to be provided to enable the various stages of the process to be completed.