Local councils are already flat-chat maintaining roads and managing rubbish, now they want to add keeping you connected to their to-do list.

Councils have approached NBN Co about becoming internet service providers, according to the company's chief customer officer John Simon.

Would you trust your local council to keep you online? Credit:Rob Homer

Speaking at the NBN Rebooted event in Sydney on Monday, Mr Simon said local councils were the only government bodies to have approached NBN Co about becoming telecommunications providers buying wholesale phone and internet services from the organisation.

NBN Co is not allowed to sell its services directly to end users and is restricted to working with ISPs such as Telstra, iiNet and SingTel-Optus. To do otherwise would attract the ire of providers, whose customers are vital for the national broadband network's success.