Visionstream wins NBN deal worth up to AU$1 billion

Leighton Holdings subsidiary Visionstream has signed another minimum two-year National Broadband Network contract with NBN Co that will see the company construct the fibre network in southern New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.

The deal is worth AU$334 million over two years, with two one-year options for renewal. Visionstream said that the total value of the contract could be worth up to AU$1 billion.

Visionstream will be tasked to roll out the fibre network from the fibre access node up to the box outside each premise in Brisbane, Melbourne and southern New South Wales, including Wollongong, the company said.

Visionstream has already helped construct the transit network and the fibre network in Tasmania, and rolled out fibre into new housing developments in Victoria and Queensland.

The construction company is also performing duct and pit remediation work for Telstra to get its infrastructure NBN-ready.

NBN Co has engaged Silcar for construction in other parts of Queensland and NSW, as well as the ACT. Downer EDI is undertaking construction in northern NSW. Syntheo is the construction partner for the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia, though NBN Co has admitted that there is a "range of issues" with Syntheo in these states and the rollout in these locations has been delayed.

The contract is one of the first in the next stage of construction contracts to be signed this year by NBN Co. Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has warned NBN Co to build flexibility into the contracts in the event that the Coalition wins the September Federal election and wishes to change the rollout of the project. There had been concern from the party that NBN Co would lock in rigid four-year contracts in order to retain as much of the existing rollout schedule as possible in the event of a change of government.

Visionstream yesterday announced that parent company Leighton Holdings had signed an in-principle agreement to move John Holland's communications business and most of its contracts into Visionstream.