THE ACT’s federal Labor members are calling on NBN Co to finish upgrading Canberra’s substandard NBN infrastructure after only some of the capital has been included in the federal government’s round three upgrades.

Morrison Government agreed to fix some of the network in September, however, despite having the worst NBN of any capital city, the ACT was left out of the first round of locations to be upgraded, announced in October, and left out again in February, says the Federal Member for Canberra, Alicia Payne.

And while federal ACT Labor representatives welcome the inclusion of the ACT in round three, Ms Payne and her colleagues call on the Morrison Government to do more.

Residents of Banks, Campbell, Conder, Dickson, Gordon, Hume, Lyneham, O’Connor, Reid and Turner, are promised to receive an upgrade, but suburbs such as Calwell and Monash will be left behind, Ms Payne says.

“[And] what about the residents of the inner south, Belconnen, Woden and Weston Creek? When will the rest of Canberra get quality NBN?” she says.

It remains unclear how NBN Co identifies and selects the upgrade locations, she says.

Federal Member for the seat of Bean, David Smith says the Liberals have stuffed the NBN, causing businesses and households to miss out on the benefits of fast internet.

“During COVID-19, the importance of fast internet has been highlighted as businesses have pivoted and families have worked and studied from home,” he says.

“Residents of the ACT deserve better from the NBN Co and the Morrison Government and the rollout announced today doesn’t go far enough.”