NBN Co is to spend 33 per cent more than anticipated connecting the bush to fast speed broadband.

In its latest report, the company says 620,000 people living in regional and remote Australia want broadband by 2021, three times the previous estimate of 230,000 (in the 2012-15 Corporate Plan).

The extra cost is $1.5 billion, taking the total to $5.2 billion by 2021, with the high cost not able to be recovered with revenue from users.

Bill Morrow, the new chief executive of NBN Co, says the Fixed Wireless and Satellite Review will set the future direction of broadband to service the 'last 7 per cent' of Australians, those living outside towns and cities.

“The good news is this was partly anticipated in the Strategic review in December 2013, so it’s fully within the envelope that has been laid out within the corporate plan,” Mr Morrow said.

“These areas in remote and rural Australia - it costs us more than the revenue we’re going to generate, so this is a loss-making proposition.

“So we will subsidise that with the city areas, where we will see greater revenues, greater probabilities. Therefore, the system works to be able to provide all Australians with broadband service at a reasonable and affordable price.”

The review recommends:

Doubling the number of fixed wireless base stations to 2,700, to serve 85 per cent more regional and remote homes.

Doubling the number of fixed wireless base stations to 2,700, to serve 85 per cent more regional and remote homes. Extending the fibre-to-the-node networks to 25,000 homes, farms and businesses that had been slated for a fixed-wireless or satellite connection. This will deliver 25 megabit per second (mbs) downloads and 5mbs uploads.

Extending the fibre-to-the-node networks to 25,000 homes, farms and businesses that had been slated for a fixed-wireless or satellite connection. This will deliver 25 megabit per second (mbs) downloads and 5mbs uploads. Imposing tight restrictions on the use of satellites, to ensure no-one hogs the bandwidth.

NBN Co has two satellites at total cost of between $1-2 billion, to be launched in 2015, to service remote Australians by 2016.

But even with the additional demand, NBN Co has ruled out launching a third satellite, but rather will look at an option in future of negotiating with a third party to share its satellite.

The company also plans to secure additional radio spectrum on the fixed wireless NBN to connect 80,000 premises in the urban fringes, like the Gold Coast hinterland.

Responding to criticism of cost blow outs and slow delivery, NBN Co CEO Bill Morrow, who has been in the job one month, says it is a particular focus to improve construction methods.

“We are a young company. There’s all sorts of growing pains we’re suffering from," he said.

"We do have a plan to look at all the processes, in particular those related to the end user and our customers, the service providers.”

The NBN Co document has blacked out certain costs and sentences, saying the detail is commercial in confidence.

For example, the cost of building additional base stations and associated spectrum is deleted, as is the cost of buying radio spectrum for the urban fringe areas.

Asked if one day every Australian might enjoy fast speed broadband, Mr Morrow spoke with passion.

“I think that is the absolute corporateness of what NBN is. It’s why I joined the company and I think it’s what all of us are focused on day in day out. We want to give everybody affordable fast broadband access.”

But he says 25mbs download and 5mbs uploads are what is affordable to aim for, not faster speeds.

Paul Fletcher, Parliamentary Secretary for Communications, is scathing of Labor underestimating the demand in the bush for high-speed broadband, and blamed the former government for the extra $1.5 billion cost to offer fixed-line services.