Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull should not be faulted for having an NBN connection at his home or elsewhere using HFC because he has no choice in the matter.

A prominent network expert and frequent commentator on the national broadband network has described NBN Co's half-yearly results as a "train wreck" and said that there is nothing that can be done to get the company back on the rails.

NBN Co, the company rolling out Australia's national broadband network, has reported a record loss for both a quarter and a half-year,  with the company losing $1.13 billion for the three months October to December 2017 and running up a $2.4 billion loss for the first six months of financial year 2018.