NBN costly train wreck

AUSTRALIA’S multibilliondollar NBN project could feature more outdated, costly technology than first thought after the company rolling it out revealed it had purchased more than 15,000km of copper wire, which one industry expert compared to “an investment in a steam train”.

NBN Co revealed its purchase in a delayed response to a Senate Estimates question, and after chief executive Bill Morrow admitted copper technology was more expensive to maintain.

Industry experts claimed installing copper would be more expensive in the long run, as it would need to be replaced to achieve the high level of download speeds users would require and expect into the future.