Australia govt forces NBN to hike access points

SYDNEY : The company building Australia's $35 billion national broadband network has been forced to increase the number of points where internet service providers can access the network to about 120, The Australian Financial Review reported Thursday.

The Australian government had forced NBN Co to increase the access points by more than eight times the number it originally proposed following criticism the company was extending its monopoly too far, the newspaper said.

The re-design could trim the project's commercial return, the unsourced report said.

The super-fast broadband plan was a key election for Prime Minister Julia Gillard's Labor. Rival phone companies such as Singapore Telecommunications' Australian unit Optus have been critical of the plan and want to be able to connect at up to 400 points around Australia.