Why Armidale took the NBN launch prize

Kiama
(Credit: NBN Co)

According to the NBN Co chief, Kiama was also at one stage the front runner to take the prize.

"At various times, maybe early on in the piece, for example, Kiama Downs looked like it was ahead but we hit very hard volcanic rock and we also had to put some backhaul through an area with swamp that ended up being environmentally sensitive," he said.

When ZDNet Australia toured the Kiama site earlier this year, NBN Co said that the basalt rock encountered by NBN Co construction crews was a seven on a scale of 10 for rock hardness.

Brunswick
(Credit: NBN Co)

The inner-city roll-out site of Brunswick in Melbourne also lagged behind in the race when NBN Co discovered a few dangers in accessing existing ducts to install fibre.

"Brunswick, we had some remediation issues with asbestos in the ducts ... which slowed the progress down in Brunswick," Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said.

Willunga
(Credit: NBN Co)

Conroy hinted that Senator Eric Abetz's line of questioning over the decision on which site was to be the first to finish came from the fact that Armidale, the poster site that went live in May, resides within the electorate of Independent MP Tony Windsor, whose vote the government needs to hold power.

Conroy joked that the South Australian roll-out site of Willunga may have been first.

"What you think we sent an order to Willunga, 'slow down, we want Armidale first'? Oh, they've caught us," Conroy joked.

Armidale
(Credit: NBN Co)

Ultimately, Armidale construction was the first to be completed and Quigley put the total cost of the launch in Armidale last month at approximately $140,000. The other five sites are expected to go live with test customers over the next few months, with commercial services tipped to start in September.