Some streets within HFC-enabled suburbs will end up on fibre-to-the-node, says NBN chief executive Bill Morrow, despite initial intentions to connect every home in the HFC footprint to the high-speed cable networks.

The NBN will launch its first HFC cable broadband service in June, with 219 regions across the country earmarked for NBN access via HFC under the next phase of the rollout. While HFC cable runs through parts of these suburbs, overlooked homes will not necessarily be connected to the cable network.

NBN chief executive Bill Morrow.

Rolled out in the 1990s, Optus and Telstra's HFC pay TV and broadband cables weave their way through many metropolitan suburbs. Some streets have one provider's cable, some have both and some have neither — creating a digital divide within suburbs. Even within individual streets the cable network skips some homes.

These HFC cable networks are an integral part of the new-look multi-technology-mix NBN, with the 2013 Strategic Review proposing that all 3.4 million premises within the HFC footprint be connected to the cable network — with the NBN rollout going back to "infill" the gaps and connect overlooked homes and streets.