NBN business case expected this week

After sitting on the document for over a month, the Federal Government is expected to release the controversial business case for the National Broadband Network (NBN) in the next few days.

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy received the 400-page document containing the financial details around the $36 billion project from NBN Co last month; however, he refused to make the document public until after the cabinet had made decisions on the points of interconnect for the network.

Following a meeting of the cabinet last week, the ABC reported that the business case will be released this week sometime. The office of Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has told ZDNet Australia today that the document would be released "shortly".

Last week Conroy flagged that the release of the document could be delayed because it would have to be adjusted to account for any differences between the cabinet's decision on the NBN points of interconnect and NBN Co's proposal.

NBN Co put forward 14 points of interconnect, a move which has been widely criticised by telco and backhaul industries, with providers concerned about NBN Co preventing competition and stranding existing infrastructure through overbuild.

The government released a 36-page summary of the NBN business case late last month after hasty negotiations with Independent Senator Nick Xenophon. The government needed to secure Xenophon's vote to pass the telco reform Bill that ensures the structural separation of Telstra's wholesale and retail arms.

Conroy has said that certain parts of the 400-page business case will not be made available due to commercial sensitivities for the project.