The report: 'Telecommunications spend and demand in Victoria, 2012' was prepared for the Department of Business and Innovation by Deloitte Access Economics.
Releasing it, technology minister, Gordon Rich-Phillips, said: "The rollout of the NBN is failing to keep pace with demand for high-speed broadband services in Victoria. In just two years, the number of premises that would upgrade to high-speed broadband services has increased by 63 percent. More than 350,000 Victorian homes and businesses would take up high speed broadband services if it was available to them."
According to Rich-Phillips: "Much of this unmet demand is a result of the void created in private sector broadband investment since the Commonwealth Labor Government decided to build its own broadband network. It's clear the Commonwealth's rollout plan is not hitting areas where there is strong demand for services or those areas that would benefit most from adequate services.
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When the 2010 report, also prepared by Access Economics, was released the Labor ICT minister, John Lenders, said it showed that more than 219,000 Victorian households and businesses would take up an NBN grade service immediately if such were available. He hailed the report as "a great benchmark for Victoria and Australia, to see just how much Victorian households and businesses need and will benefit from the NBN."
The 2012 report however is no supporter of the Coalition's kill-the-NBN policy. It notes that a Federal Coalition broadband policy would result in a less satisfactory outcome for those waiting for high-speed broadband services. It points out that the NBN is important to the whole gamut of telecommunications access services, in particular to provide mobile backhaul links.
"Given this importance, any delays in the rollout or cancellation of the NBN would have substantial implications...with fewer likely subscribers in the two more advanced fixed broadband categories and more in the basic broadband categories as demand goes unmet."
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