CANBERRA: Around eight million Australian homes should gain access to ultra-fast broadband speeds of up to one gigabit per second (Gbps) by 2023, according to a Federal Government statement.

It says the $4.5 billion network investment plan will give up to 75 per cent of fixed-line premises across regional and metropolitan Australia access to ultra-fast broadband.

It’s unclear when the other 25 percent of homes might expect the same speeds.

The proposed rollout isn’t being financed by a government handout. Instead NBN Co is expected to borrow the $4.5 billion from private debt markets.

A further spend of “up to” $700 million is envisaged to make business-grade fibre services “more affordable and accessible to more businesses, though at this stage there are few details available.

More details are promised when the Government announces its 2020-21 budget on Tuesday, October 6.