NBN Co's Bill Morrow says company has hit ambitious targets as activations reach 3.4 million

NBN Co has added 940,000 new premises to its NBN access network in the half year ending in 31 December 2017, reaching close to 3.4 million total activations so far.

The network builder said there are 6.1 million premises ready to connect to the network and 7.1 million premises are ready for service.

“In the six months, we’ve delivered on some of our most ambitious targets that bring us closer to our 2020 goals. As of 31 December 2017, more than 95 per cent of households and businesses are in design, construction or are already able to order a service over the NBN access network,” NBN Co chief executive Bill Morrow said.

“While that is success we can be proud of, we’ve demonstrated that we won’t pursue those objectives single-mindedly at the expense of customer experience.”

Meanwhile, this growth in activations has helped double NBN Co’s revenue to $891 million, up 121 percent from $403 million in the half year ending 31 December 2016.

The company also revealed that it remained on track to complete the initial build by 2020 and the peak funding forecast is still consistent with the last guidance it provided.

“We have a strong program of activity in place, and we made some significant decisions last year to prioritise the experience of end users on the network. In partnership with retail providers, we are confident that we will get this right,” Morrow said.

“We have shown our ability to deliver on the build side. We are applying that same focus to ensuring we work with industry to deliver a better internet experience for all Australians.”

Earlier this month, NBN saw an increase in bandwidth from its resellers, after a 38 percent increase in uptake of connectivity virtual circuit (CVC).

The company also announced some changes in its leadership team appointing Paul Tyler as its chief customer officer for business to replace John Simon, while chief corporate affairs officer Karina Keisler will be departing in mid-August.

In November 2017, NBN revealed it would pause rollouts of hybrid fibre coaxial networks until at least June 2018 as it works to improve the quality of service for internet service providers and end users.

The delay, which will impact the current rollout schedule, means ISPs may need to extend access to their HFC and ADSL networks.