NBN Co CEO Bill Morrow has said the network will definitely not drop the low-price 12Mbps service which has been criticised by a number of users who say their service is no faster than their old ADSL phone.

Morrow said that a low-cost NBN option must be kept in place to ensure that all households can receive a service, even though it was not designed to deliver fast broadband services.

“A cheap option is needed to deliver a basic service,” Morrow told The Australian yesterday. “Unfortunately the land-grab situation has seen retail service providers push the 12/1 product because it gives them a way to compete on price and roll customers quicker because it’s a simpler transaction.”

Releasing its annual results this week, NBN Co said 29 percent of its customers are paying for the 12Mbps service, while 54 percent are were paying for 25Mbps, 4 percent for 50Mbps and 13pc for 100Mbps.