Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has visited the directors of some of Australia's biggest construction and telecommunications companies in order to appoint more experience and expertise to the NBN Co's boardroom.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, former Telstra (ASX: TLS) chief executive, Ziggy Switkowski, is rumoured to be one of the new faces appointed to the board. "It is remarkable that there is nobody on that board who has either run or built or been responsible for building or managing large telecommunications networks," Mr Turnbull told ABC News.
It is the NBN's "singular deficiency" and the entire progress of the company will be reviewed by the Abbott government when it commences its 60-day review of the rollout.
The Abbott government's NBN will cost around $20.4 billion compared to the former Labor government's $37 billion but, on average, will deliver much slower speeds. Dr Switkowski, a qualified nuclear physicist, has a rich history of leading Telstra through its privatisation years.
However his appointment could raise further concerns for rival ISPs, including iiNet (ASX: IIN) and M2 Telecommunications (ASX: MTU), who have become concerned about Telstra's role during the rollout of the network.
Just before midday, Telstra shares were up 0.83%.
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Motley Fool contributor Owen Raszkiewicz does not have a financial interest in any of the mentioned companies.
