Futures dropped as much as 0.6 per cent after an index based on a survey of euro-region purchasing managers unexpectedly shrank. Manufacturing in China may slip for a fourth month, according to a preliminary index. Oil advanced earlier after inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency were denied access to an Iranian military base.

“Prices slipped because we didn’t get rosy economic data,” said Gene McGillian, an analyst and broker at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut. “We’re still well above $US105 and the bullish factors that got us here are still there. The geopolitical tensions with Iran continue to simmer.”

Brent oil for April settlement climbed 82 cents, or 0.7 per cent, to $US122.48 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The price reached $US123.07, the highest intraday level since May 3. The European benchmark was at a $US16.65-a- barrel premium to New York-traded West Texas Intermediate oil. The spread was $US1.24 wider than yesterday.

A euro-area composite index based on a survey of purchasing managers in the services and manufacturing industries dropped to 49.7 from 50.4 in January, London-based Markit Economics said in an initial estimate today. Economists in a Bloomberg News survey had forecast a reading of 50.5.

Chinese Manufacturing

China’s manufacturing also may shrink in February, according to the preliminary 49.7 reading of an index from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics. It would be the fourth month factory activity declines in China as Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis damps exports and the housing market cools. Readings below 50 point to a contraction.

“We’re down a bit on weak economic data from Europe and China,” said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research in Winchester, Massachusetts. “The Iran situation continues to be a supportive factor.”

The IAEA said Iran refused permission to visit the Parchin military base during two days of talks that ended yesterday. An Iranian general, Mohammad Hejazi, said his nation would consider pre-emptive action when threatened, Fars news agency reported yesterday.

Israel and the US have said all options are on the table in ensuring the Persian Gulf nation doesn’t acquire atomic weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is for energy.

Iranian Supply

Speculation that oil supplies will be disrupted has increased as tension between Iran and Western nations escalates, David Greely, head of energy research at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in New York, said in a report today. The bank maintained a recommendation that investors buy Brent contracts for July 2012 to take advantage of rising prices.

“The biggest driver of the market recently has been fear about Iran,” said Tom Bentz, a director with BNP Paribas Prime Brokerage Inc. in New York. “There’s anxiety about what the latest sanctions will mean and what retaliation will take place. All of this keeps prices inflated.”

Agreement on a second bailout for Greece may not be enough to end Europe’s debt crisis and countries in the euro-area periphery must reduce debt and improve competitiveness, Bank of England Deputy Governor Charlie Bean said in a speech yesterday in Glasgow, Scotland.

An Energy Department report tomorrow will probably show that US crude supplies rose 1.35 million barrels, or 0.4 per cent, to 340.4 million in the seven days ended Feb. 17, according to the median of 10 analyst estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. The addition would leave supplies at the highest level since the week ended Sept. 23.
- The Age

At 0700 AEDT on Thursday, the Australian dollar was trading at 106.43 US cents, down from 106.71 cents on Wednesday.

Since 1700 AEDT on Wednesday, the local unit has traded between 106.06 US cents and 106.82 cents.

GFT Forex director of currency research Kathy Lien said the US is trading higher against most of the major currencies.

“So, that’s contributing a bit to the pressure on the Australian dollar,” Ms Lien said from New York.

“The real reason why the Aussie dollar is performing so poorly is because of the political uncertainty related to (Foreign Minister Kevin) Rudd’s sudden resignation and his threat to challenge (Prime Minister) Julia Gillard.

“I think markets are worried about a potential leadership change, what it means for any policy measures they have for Australia and the uncertainty it provides.”

On Friday, Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) governor Glenn Stevens will appear before the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, which Ms Lien said would be of interest for markets.

The appearance comes after the RBA’s surprise decision not to cut the cash rate at its February 7 board meeting.

“I think that the market is still trying to figure out whether the Reserve Bank is trying to cut interest rates or not,” Ms Lien said.

She said she expected the Australian dollar to trade in a range between 105.85 US cents and 106.50 cents on Thursday.
- The Age

In early trade, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 6.7 points, or 0.2 per cent, at 4286.4 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index had dropped 5.7 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 4366.4 points.

Austock Securities senior client adviser and strategist Michael Heffernan said there was no major local or international news driving the Australian market today.

David Jones said on Thursday its second quarter sales fell 3.1 per cent and reaffirmed its first half guidance.

Chief executive Paul Zahra said that while sales performance this quarter reflected the continuing challenging retail environment, there had been an improvement in the second quarter of fiscal 2012 versus the first quarter of the year.

Mr Heffernan said the result exceeded market expectations.

The company’s shares were six cents higher, or 2.3 per cent, at $2.63.

In other news, energy producer and retailer Origin Energy posted a first half net profit of $794 million compared to a $136 million loss for the previous corresponding period.

‘‘Certainly Origin has stepped on the gas …. and it’s one of the better performing stocks,’’ Mr Heffernan said.

Origin Energy’s shares were 31 cents firmer, or 2.25 per cent, at $14.10.

Meanwhile, Fairfax Media reported a first half profit fall of 44 per cent and said difficult trading conditions would likely continue. Fairfax’s shares fell 0.5 cents to 83 cents.

The four major banks were mixed.

Commonwealth Bank Australia rose two cents to $49.66, the National Australia Bank was down 10 cents to $23.35, ANZ dipped 8 cents to $22.06 and Westpac was down 2 cents to $20.75.

Offshore overnight

Bond markets

German bunds advanced for the first time in a week after European reports showed services and manufacturing unexpectedly contracted this month, boosting demand for the region’s safest securities.

• Germany’s 10-year yield fell nine basis points, or 0.09 percentage point, to 1.89 per cent after rising 12 basis points over the previous four days

• Italy’s 10-year bond yield increased eight basis points to 5.51 per cent after falling to 5.36 per cent yesterday, the lowest level since Sept. 9

• Portugal’s 10-year yield rose 12 basis points to 12.45 per cent, and its two-year yield jumped 90 basis points to 13.63 per cent. Spain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 5.09 per cent

• US treasury yields on 10-year notes fell five basis points to 2.01 per cent after touching 2.08 per cent, the most since Jan. 24

United States

US stocks fell, a day after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index failed to hold at an almost four- year high, as sales of previously owned houses missed estimates and data from Europe and China spurred economic concern.

Key numbers:

• S&P 500 lost 0.3% to 1358.11
• Dow Jones Indus Avg lost 0.2% to 12,939.69
• Nasdaq composite lost 0.42% to 2936.31

Europe

European stocks closed lower but the euro was steady in cautious trade as relief at a massive Greek debt bailout gave way to growing scepticism that the deal can really work.

Key numbers:

• In London, the FTSE 100 lost 0.20% at 5916.55
• In Frankfurt, the DAX 30 lost 0.93% at 6843.87
• In Paris the CAC 40 lost 0.52% to 3447.37

Asia

Asian stocks rose ahead of U.S. housing market data that may add to signs the world’s largest economy is recovering, and as Japanese exporters gained on a weaker yen. Alibaba.com Ltd. surged in Hong Kong.

Key numbers:

• MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.1% to 127.8
• Japan’s Nikkei added 0.96% to 9554
• Hong Kong’s hang Seng added 0.33% to 21549.28
• China’s Shanghai composite added 0.93% to 2403.6

Commodities

Energy

World oil prices jumped Wednesday to new nine-month highs, driven by fresh geopolitical worries over key crude producer Iran, dealers said.

• Brent North Sea crude for delivery in April soared as high as $US123.07 per barrel
• New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for April, jumped to $US106.47 – levels last seen in early May 2011.

Precious metals

Platinum futures settled at their highest level since September after the second-largest producer of the metal flagged lower deliveries, while gold set a high for the year in a late-afternoon rally.

• The most-actively traded platinum contract, for April delivery, settled $US35.90, or 2.1 per cent, higher at $US1,720.80 a troy ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
• Gold touched $US1,774.20 a troy ounce, the highest level this year. Gold for April delivery settled at $US1,771.30 a troy ounce, up $US12.80, or 0.7 per cent, on the day.
• Gold for February delivery rose $US12.90, or 0.7 per cent, to settle at $US1,770 a troy ounce.

Base metals

Base metals closed mixed on the London Metal Exchange (LME) as investors weighed up soft euro-zone data and a downgrade of Greece’s credit rating against a lift in US home sales and hope that an easing of Chinese monetary policy will support metal demand.

• LME three-month copper ended the PM kerb at $US8,434 a metric ton, down $US15, or 0.2 per cent, on Tuesday’s close
• Three-month aluminum, however, was up 1.2 per cent at $US2,280/ton, while three-month nickel slipped 0.7 per cent to $US20,075/ton

How we fared yesterday

Australian shares recovered early loses to end a touch above flat on Wednesday, just clinching four straight days of gains

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index rose 1.8 points to 4,293.1, according to the latest data, off an earlier low of 4,274.8 but still capped below 4,300. The index advanced 0.8 per cent on Tuesday.

- The Age

Eight more towns and cities will be given access to the national broadband network (NBN) over the next 12 months.

NBN Co, the federal government-owned builder of the network, announced the roll out schedule in its first quarterly update released today.

Corrimal in NSW’s Illawarra region; Ascot in north-east Brisbane; the Melbourne suburbs of Footscray, Karingal and Keysborough; Bellerive and Claremont in Hobart; and South Launceston have been added to the plan.

It also shows 758,100 premises will have access to the NBN by 2013, an increase of 191,300 from the initial schedule released in October.

Chief executive Mike Quigley told a senate committee hearing on Tuesday NBN Co was connecting more premises in areas where the rollout had already occurred.

He said about 5500 premises have been connected to the NBN.

NBN Co will soon release its three-year rollout plan, which will include more locations for the network.

Under the $35.9 billion project, fibre-optic cable delivering high-speed broadband services will be rolled out to 93 per cent of Australia’s 13 million homes, schools and businesses by 2021. NBN Co will also pay Telstra about $14 billion to use its infrastructure and transfer copper-line customers to NBN Co.

Fixed 4G wireless technology will provide high-speed internet to four per cent of premises, and the remaining three per cent will be supplied by two satellites to areas outside the reach of the fibre cable network. The satellite services are already available to remote premises on an interim service. The copper telephone line will remain connected to households served by wireless and internet services.

NBN Co will own and maintain the network and sell services directly to companies, which will then provide retail broadband services. The full roll out is expected to take 10 years.
- The Age

In early trade, the Australian dollar was trading at 107.04 US cents, down from 107.52 cents on Wednesday.

Greek finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos on Wednesday (European time) warned that several European Union (EU) countries wanted his debt-stricken country out of the euro zone.

German’s finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble appeared to back up his comments, saying that while EU member states wanted to help Greece, they were not prepared to ‘‘pour money into a bottomless pit’’.

EU finance ministers were due to hold a teleconference on Wednesday night to discuss Greece’s 130-billion-euro ($160 billion) bailout.

- The Age

But concerns about the outcome of Greek bailout talks in Brussels among euro zone officials limited the day’s rises.

A denial by Iran’s oil ministry of a state media report that Tehran had banned oil exports to six European Union countries in retaliation for EU sanctions also pared gains.

“The oil markets are doing a balancing act between what’s happening in Iran and the euro zone, where the Greek bailout deal may still fall apart,” said Chris Dillman, analyst at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.

At 1:35 p.m. EST (1835 GMT), ICE April Brent crude traded in London at $US118.43 a barrel, up $US1.08. It earlier hit a session peak of $US119.99, the highest intraday since Aug. 1, on the report that Iran was halting oil exports to some EU countries.

US March crude gained 75 cents at $US101.49 a barrel, off an early peak of $US102.54, the highest intraday since Jan. 12.

“Bubbling of tensions with Iran will always be supportive of the oil price, and this latest development is no different,” said Harry Tchilinguirian, analyst at BNP Paribas.

US crude oil inventories showed a surprise, if modest, drop of 171,000 barrels in the week to Feb. 10, defying the forecast in a Reuters poll for a 1.5-million-barrel increase and going against industry data released late on Tuesday showing a 2.9-million-barrel build.

Crude stocks held at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub for US-traded crude oil futures rose to their highest level since September, posting a 2.0-million-barrel build, the biggest weekly increase since December 2009.

The gain in Cushing stocks helped widen Brent’s premium against US crude to around $US16.60 a barrel. The gap had narrowed on Tuesday to $US16.27.

An explosion hit a pipeline in Syria on Wednesday, a strike in Yemen has halted output at its largest oilfield and Sudan seized more of South Sudan’s oil in a dispute over payment.

Oil-supply risks far outweigh the effects of the euro zone’s debt problems, highlighted by the still-unresolved quest of Greece to obtain a second debt bailout.

Euro zone worries

A possible delay of parts or even all of the second international bailout for Greece while still avoiding a messy default was being discussed by euro zone officials.

The officials appeared unconvinced that Greece’s political leaders were sufficiently committed to the bailout deal that requires Athens to make further spending cuts and adopt unpopular labor reforms.

This kept oil’s gains in check even as investors welcomed a reiteration by China’s chief central banker that his country would keep investing in euro zone debt.

US economic data was mixed, with factory activity in New York state rising to its highest in 1-1/2 years this month and US industrial production turning unexpectedly flat in January.

However, the United States posted its second month of gains in manufacturing last month, pointing to underlying strength in the economy.
- The Age

US stocks ended in the red on Wednesday as concerns resurfaced that Greece was veering towards default after a debt bailout hit fresh turbulence.

In mid-morning trade, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 45.8 points, or 1.1 per cent, at 4,207.6, while the broader All Ordinaries index was down 44.1 points, or 1 per cent, at 4,283.3.

‘‘It’s created some weakness overnight,’’ Mr Conway said. ‘‘There’s been a bit of a negative lead from international markets.’’

He said there had also been some technical selling.But he predicts the Australian market will recover later in the day.

Financial stocks were lower, with the Commonwealth Bank down 19 cents, or 0.38 per cent, to $50.04. NAB was 25 cents lower at $22.80, Westpac fell 56 cents to $20.40 and ANZ was down 19 cents at $21.51.

The miners were also weaker.BHP opened 67 cents lower at $35.43, while Rio Tinto slipped $1.51 cents to $67.36.

In companies news Westpac’s first-quarter cash profit fell slightly due to a fall in income from its markets-related business.

Wealth manager and life insurer AMP reported an 11 per cent fall in its full-year net profit to $688 million.Its shares opened 13 cents lower at $4.26.

And Qantas said its first half net profit $42 million, which was down 83 per cent on the previous corresponding period. Qantas shares were 2.5 cents lower at $1.53.

Offshore overnight

Bond makets

German bonds rose for a second day, outperforming their European peers, as speculation Greece is struggling to win a new bailout from international lenders boosted demand for the region’s safest securities.

• Germany’s 10-year yield fell four basis points, or 0.04 percentage point, to 1.86 per cent

• Spanish 10-year yields climbed 15 basis points to 5.43 per cent, increasing the spread over similar-maturity German bunds by 19 basis points to 358 basis points. Italian 10-year yields gained 16 basis points to 5.73 per cent.

• Portugal’s five-year yields fell 13 basis points to 14.83 per cent. Ten-year yields were little changed at 12.05 per cent.

• US treasury Yields on 10-year notes fell one basis point, or 0.01 percentage point, to 1.92 per cent, according to Bloomberg.

United States

US stocks fell as concern grew that Greece was moving closer to default and Federal Reserve minutes showed policy makers were divided on buying more assets.

Key numbers:

• S&P500 Index lost 0.3% to 1346.51
• Dow Jones Indus Avg fell 0.6% to 12,800.02
• Nasdaq composite lost 0.09% to 2929.30

Europe

European shares mostly rose despite a Greek bailout hanging in the balance on Wednesday, with supportive Chinese comments lifting sentiment.

Key numbers:

• London’s FTSE 100 lost 0.13% at 5892.16
• In Frankfurt the DAX 30 added 0.44% to 6757.94
• In Paris the CAC 40 added 0.44% to 3390.35

Asia

Asian stocks rose, with the region’s benchmark index headed for a six-month high, after China pledged to help resolve Europe’s debt crisis. Chipmakers outside Japan rallied after debt-laden rival Elpida Memory Inc. said it may not survive. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 1.9 per cent to 127.34.

Key numbers:

• Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 2.30% to 9260.34
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 2.14% to 21365.23
• China’s Shanghai composite added 0.94% to 2366.7

Commodities

Energy

Oil prices are climbing after Iran says it will cut off some crude exports to Europe in retaliation for a planned embargo later this year.

• Benchmark US crude rose by $US1.08 ($A1.01) to $101.82 per barrel in New York
• Brent crude, which is used to price foreign oil that’s imported by refineries, rose by $US1.53 to $US118.88 per barrel in London

Precious metals

Gold futures gained on Wednesday, as the latest set of Greek-debt worries weren’t enough to derail gains made in precious metals after China signalled its support for Europe’s financial system.

• The most-actively traded contract, for April delivery, rose $US10.40, or 0.6 per cent, to settle at $US1,728.10 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange
• Silver closed up six US cents at $US33.408, while platinum finished up $US10.20 and palladium was down $US3.60 at $US683.65

Base metals

Base metals closed mostly lower on the London Metal Exchange, weighed by a stronger dollar after Greece’s much-needed bailout ran into further hurdles.

• LME three-month copper ended the PM kerb at $US8370 a metric ton, down 0.5 per cent on the day

What you need to know

• The SPI was 36 points lower at 4182
• The $A was trading at $US1.07
• In the US, the S&P500 lost 0.54% to 1343.23
• In Europe, the FTSE100 lost 0.13% to 5892.16
• Gold rose 0.9 per cent to $US1,732.60 an ounce
  
• WTI crude oil added 75 US cents to $US101.49 a barrel

- The Age

RBA deputy governor Philip Lowe said the mining investment boom combined with strong commodities prices and a powerful Australian dollar are expected to continue aiding the economy in the year ahead, includingnon-mining sectors.

“In effect, there is a chain that links the investment boom in the Pilbara and in Queensland to the increase in spending at cafés and restaurants in Melbourne and Sydney,” said Mr Lowe, in a speech in Sydney.

The strong dollar, linked to the mining boom, has made Australian manufacturing less competitive on global markets, while the shift in consumer behaviour has hastened the decline of traditional retailers over the past year squeezing profits of Australian icons such as David Jones and Myer.

Mr Lowe’s comments come hours before the Australian Bureau of Statistics is due to release official jobless data today at 11.30am, AEDT, with the market predicting the creation of 10,000 jobs in the month of January.

The unemployment rate is expected to tick up to 5.3 per cent from its current level of 5.2 per cent, economists tip.

Turbo trade terms

Mr Lowe said that the benefits begin with the elevated value of the nations exports relative to imports – the higher terms of trade – which keep the prices that Australians pay for imported manufactured goods unchanged from a decade ago.

During that time, average household incomes have risen 60 per cent, the bank said.

The boost to the spending power of Australians for imported goods leaves more money to be spent on services in cities and towns removed from the mining boom, said Mr Lowe.

“This chain can be hard to see, ” said Mr Lowe, “But it is real, and it is one of the factors that have had a material effect on the Australian economy over recent years.”

Across the nation’s various industries, however, the mining investment boom and the strong dollar has spurred a “period of heightened structural change.”

“Some industries are expanding in relative importance, while others are contracting,” he said.

Counterweight

Mr Lowe said that the strong Australian dollar, while triggering structural changes in the economy, is acting as a counterbalance to the investment boom, the Reserve Bank believe.

“Both the investment boom and the very high level of the exchange rate are historically very unusual events,” he said, which makes analysing their combined impact difficult. “It seems, however, that over the past year these forces have balanced out reasonably evenly.”

The economy’s growth remains around trend of about 3 per cent, while underlying inflation is at the mid-point of the medium-term target range, while the jobless rate remains low.

“The unemployment rate is also expected to remain low, although some increase is possible over coming months,” he said.

- The Age

The Gillard government has announced that the National Broadband Network will spend $620 million on two new satellites to connect some of Australia’s most remote towns.

The Ka-band satellites will be built in California by Space Systems/Loral, a leading manufacturer of commercial broadband satellites, and are due in service in 2015.

According to Communications Minister Stephen Conroy, they will provide “dedicated broadband services for the most remote 3 per cent of houses in Australia”.

At a Canberra press conference, Prime Minister Julia Gillard told journalists: “We won’t be leaving those Australians who live in the remotest parts of Australia, behind.”

In her press statement, the Prime Minister says the satellites combined with fibre networks will deliver “universal broadband coverage across the entire Australian continent, and its external territories for the first time”.

“In conjunction with the fibre and fixed-wireless networks, the satellites mean that when completed, NBN Co will be able to offer peak speeds of 12 megabit per second download / 1 megabit per second upload, at uniform national wholesale prices, to every home and business in Australia.”

Ms Gillard also addressed the issue of subsidies for car manufacturing in her press conference, dismissing criticism of the government’s $1.5 billion support after meeting manufacturers in Canberra today.

She said that a strong car industry was in the national interest, because it provided skills and innovation to the wider manufacturing sector.

The Prime Minister said there was a lot of ”lazy talk” in the media about the government’s approach and that the car industry was not an ”old industry”.

”Car manufacturing needs to be part our [economic] future,” she said.

Ms Gillard said that with 200,000 jobs reliant on the car industry, government support for car manufacturing was about more than its 46,000 employees.

”The decision we made there was, ‘is it in the nation’s interest to have these skills and technologies available in our supply chain and in our manufacturing sector?’ ” she said.

Today, Ms Gillard sent a message to representatives of the automotive industry to assure them of the government’s support.

”As Prime Minister, I wanted to write to you personally to let you know that I am determined to secure a strong and sustainable future for manufacturing in this country,” she said in the letter.

The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union was also due to meet opposition industry spokeswoman Sophie Mirabella today, in a bid to reverse the Coalition’s pledge to cut $500 million in government funding to the car sector.

AMWU national secretary Dave Oliver said workers in the industry were pleased that the government’s programs were delivering results.

In the past fortnight both Holden and Toyota have announced job cuts at Australian plants despite the government’s financial support.
-  The Age

The satellites which NBN Co is building are specifically built to carry broadband traffic, while Optus’s satellites are designed to carry television and video services, O’Sullivan explained.

Government-owned NBN Co last week awarded a $620 million contract to US-based company Space Systems/Loral to construct two satellites which would exclusively serve about 200,000 premises in remote areas, including Australia’s inhabited islands.

Opposition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull last week criticised NBN Co for building new machinery instead of buying capacity on existing services.

“When these two NBN satellites are launched, there will be huge spare capacity on them. Once again, the NBN is investing more than is needed to achieve its mission. Once again, the incentive will be for this giant new Government monopoly to intrude into other markets, and undermine existing private sector providers,” Mr Turnbull said.

“At the expected cost of $1 billion to build, launch and operate two satellites built from scratch, NBN Co is spending over $10,000 for each of the 106,000 households its Corporate Plan says will be using satellite broadband in 2021.”

However Mr O’Sullivan said NBN Co had made the right decision because of technical differences between different satellite types.

“The first point I would make is that the NBN satellites are purpose built to carry broadband traffic. Our [satellites] carry broadband traffic but have not been designed specifically for that purpose,” he said.

“Part of the issue around this debate is that there are fundamental differences in satellite between the Ku band, which we use, and the Ka band, which is increasingly used internationally for broadband services. The differences is the way in which the spot-beams are tailored and focused in order to carry traffic. And we carry mainly broadcast-type content — video, television programming etc — on our satellites. That is quite different than the Ka band which is what is used for broadband satellite.”

Ka satellites carry data at a higher radio spectrum frequency than Ku satellites, allowing higher bandwidth communication.

“What you would see is a difference in capacity and economics and speed between a Ka band satellite and a Ku band satellite. We could carry this traffic, but we would not be able to do it with the speed, economics and capacity that a Ka band satellite could do it with. That is the reason why they chose to go that route and we are happy to co-operate in working with them in order to assist them rolling it out,” Mr O’Sullivan explained.

The NBN Co satellite service is now available to Australians who live outside the metropolitan and regional areas which will be supplied with broadband services over fibre-optic cable or fixed-wireless.

- The Age