NBN could be delayed due to labour shortage

It has been claimed that there could be delays with the rollout of the National Broadband Network in Australia due to shortages with labour.

According to recent reports the chief executive of the National Broadband Network company, Mike Quigley has expressed concerns about the National Broadband Network. He is concerned that there may be delays caused in the rollout of the NBN because of shortages when it comes to labour.

He said that pressure could be put on the multi-billion dollar network as a result of resources being redirected to the flood reconstruction in Queensland. He said that if construction costs were increased as a result of labour shortages he would go back to the federal government rather than just going over the budget.

He said that there had not been delays as yet but there could be in the future. Quigley stated: “The question really is one of scale. There’s a lot of people sucked into the construction industry over the next few years repairing damage occurred due to natural disasters. We don’t know yet what impact that will have on availability of people. It’s not so much skills we’re worried about, it’s people.”

In the meantime the opposition has jumped at the chance to question the viability of the NBN given the recent announcement by communications giant Telstra that it is upgrading its networks later this year. However, Quigley said that the NBN and wireless services are designed to work alongside one another not be in competition against one another. He said: “Mobile networks alone will not provide all the telecommunication services that Australians will need in the years ahead.”

Source – abc