Depending on which side of the political divide you lie, the National Broadband Network will be the great white hope for Australian businesses – or the great white elephant.

The consensus of businesses now covered by the NBN fibre optic network is clear – it really is a step up in speed and efficiency. Yet only a tiny portion of the country has been covered – roughly 900,000 premises are covered by the NBN.

High speed fibre-optic cables promise to deliver information at high speed to businesses. Credit:Rob Homer

Paul McKernan, who runs the Carlton franchise of Bridgestone Tyres in Victoria, says not only has it saved him time but simplified his workspace. No more multiple fixed telephone and eftpos lines (they're all covered in the one NBN modem), and no more back-to-base alarm line (also covered). Speeds and efficiency are all enhanced. McKernan says his entire business has been streamlined at virtually no extra cost.

Nick Oxley, an experienced computer programmer who runs the Goldfish Bowl bakery-café in Armidale, NSW, reports much the same. "All the data I need from the shop – no matter the size of the load – is instantly available from the cloud to all my computers and mobile devices. It's leagues faster. I've not had a drop-out in the 18 months since I was connected. I never wait for anything." At $100 a month for the top plan from Telstra, Oxley says it is worth it.