DEPUTY Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica sought to clarify the relationship between InfraCo and the NBN network during the Pacific Fiber Conference and training yesterday.
The two-day conference is taking place at the Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa on Denarau in Nadi.
Mr Kamikamica asked, “I notice you keep referring to InfraCo, whether that’s relative to the NBN network, is it the same thing or a different entity?”
In response, Telstra InfraCo delivery principal Michelle Impey clarified that Telstra InfraCo is a separate business that handles Telstra’s digital infrastructure.
“Certainly a different entity, Telstra InfraCo is the digital infrastructure side of Telstra, so a decision was made a few years ago to separate the two businesses,” she said.
Ms Impey added that while they have a relationship with NBN, the current project is a Telstra-built network.
In an article published in the Australian Financial Review on the splitting up of Telstra in 2018 to create Telstra InfraCo to house its telecom infrastructure business, the company said InfraCo was created to “so that when and if a (future Australian) government decides to privatise NBN, and they have a problem on their hands doing so, Telstra can potentially provide a solution”.
NBN Co is a state-owned corporation of the Australian government, tasked to design, build and operate Australia’s National Broadband Network (NBN) as the nation’s wholesale broadband provider.
“We obviously still have a significant relationship with NBN, but this build is a Telstra self-built,” Ms Impey said.
Mr Kamikamica then asked if the presence of both networks provided more redundancy for Australia.
Ms Impey confirmed that this was evident in some specific areas.
Note: This article was first published on the print version of the Fiji Times dated August 14, 2025