In an apparent shift from its pre-election position, the federal Opposition says it is generally supportive of proposed telecommunications regulatory reform, and has flatly rejected accusations that it is trying to block progress toward improved broadband services.

At least two-thirds of the National Broadband Network's optical fibre cable in local areas would be deployed underground rather than strung overhead on power poles, NBN Company chief executive Mike Quigley has told a Senate committee.

Telstra has called for the swift passage of telecommunications reforms introduced to Parliament today, legislation that includes provisions for the structural separation of the company.

The Gillard Government's promise to king-making rural independents Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott to make regional areas the roll-out priority for the National Broadband Network would have no impact on NBN Company finances, a Senate committee has been told.

Coalition calls for a full Productivity Commission cost-benefit analysis of the $43 billion National Broadband Network was simply a delaying tactic from an Opposition "determined to wreck" the project, Prime Minister Julia Gillard says.

NBN Company executives will present its corporate plan and business model to a meeting of its board of directors for approval on Friday, chief executive Mike Quigley has told a Senate committee, but it is still not clear when or how much of those documents will be made public.

Coalition calls for the Productivity Commission to conduct a full cost-benefit analysis of the National Broadband Network and for the project to be overseen by a parliamentary committee was designed simply to delay the roll-out of the high-speed fibre network, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said.

Ramping up pressure on Government over the cost of the National Broadband Network, the Coalition will introduce a Private Members Bill calling for a 10-year cost-benefit analysis of the project.

Broadband service provider Internode has launched a number portability service that lets customers of its Naked ADSL2+ product retain their existing analogue telephone number.

Australia risked losing jobs to offshore markets if it failed to invest in the National Broadband Network as a critical piece of economic infrastructure, Julia Gillard has told Parliament.