"It'll take overall around 18 months although the CEO of Telstra has said he wants to do that faster so both companies will be working on accelerating that switching off of the copper module by module," he said.

Shadow communication minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has criticised the plan arguing the ALP has been vague on details concerning the number of premises that would actually be able to connect to the NBN within the three year period.

"The rollout 'plan' does not contain a forecast of how many households and businesses will actually be able to connect to the NBN fibre by 2015," Turnbull said in a statement. "Nor does it contain a forecast of how many households and businesses will actually be connected. Yet these are the only numbers that matter."

"Does it mean that these premises are in a suburb where NBN has actually dug some trenches by 2015? Suburbs where it has painted a few lines on the footpath in one street? Or merely suburbs where NBN Co hopes it might be able paint a few such lines by 2015?"

"There is no indication more than a fraction of the premises claimed will be connected by 2015."