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Minister for Communications Mitch Fifield has acknowledged some areas of Canberra's south have poor internet access, but has not included them on the NBN priority list. In a letter to Canberra MP Gai Brodtmann, Mr Fifield said it was not possible or commercially viable to prioritise all areas of poor connectivity in Australia at the same time. More than 770 Tuggeranong residents presented Mr Fifield with a petition in December complaining about a digital divide, with only Wanniassa and Kambah listed for NBN in the next three years. Gungahlin was granted early access to the NBN by the former federal Labor government because of the inferior telecommunications infrastructure installed when the suburb was built. According to Ms Brodtmann, many residents in Canberra's south have been given no indication of when the NBN will arrive, despite many in northern suburbs already having access. Mr Fifield acknowledged the poor connectivity in suburbs such as Theodore but said the government would not alter the rollout plan. "An important part of the rollout plan is to ensure that underserved areas are prioritised where possible," he said. "Every community is important, but due to the nature and size of Australia the NBN needs to be rolled out in a staged process that involves careful planning, design, construction and activation, ensuring that it is rolled out in the most organised, effective and efficient way possible." Ms Brodtmann said it was "hard to imagine a less constructive response" after waiting two months for a reply. "If you were to drive down the road 15 to 20 kilometres from where we are standing today, you would find some of the worst broadband coverage in the country in terms of availability and quality," she said. "The residents of Tuggeranong are being told to wait their turn. But when they ask when their turn is the minister just shrugs his shoulders and talks about what's happening elsewhere." More than 8500 homes and businesses can now access the NBN in Canberra, with 3300 premises already signed up. Mr Fifield said 34,500 homes and businesses in Canberra's south were included in a four-year construction plan scheduled to begin before September 2018. "There are more than 1.5 million underserved premises across the country and by 2017-18 more than 65 per cent of these underserved homes and businesses will be able to order a service on the NBN," he said. Under the Coalition, the faster fibre-to-the-home system was abandoned in favour of the cheaper fibre-to-the-node, or street cabinet. On Thursday, Fairfax Media revealed the company building the NBN had trialled a new, low-cost fibre-to-the-premises technology that could achieve the speed and reliability of an all-fibre system to the home, as originally intended by Labor, but at a reduced construction price.

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