NBN Co has not spoken with the opposition about breaking up the network if the current Labor government loses the next election, chief executive Mike Quigley has revealed.
And the wireless and satellite networks would not be an attractive investment on their own and would require a government subsidy if NBN Co were stopped and sold off before completion.
It would be ''impossible'' for a private company to make a profit on the satellite or wireless business, which was being built for just seven per cent of the population, he told ABC television, without the internal cross subsidy from the fibre network.
''If somebody tried to come in and pick off the most profitable bits and leave the other parts, then clearly there would be some sort of subsidy required,'' he said.
Mr Quigley also said he had not spoken with opposition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull about the future of the network under a coalition government, but added NBN Co would ''have committed significant amounts of money by 2013''.
''I haven't had any discussions with anybody about an alternative plan,''' he said.
Last week Telstra shareholders voted more than 99 per cent in favour of an $11 billion deal with NBN Co which would see Telstra dismantle copper telephone lines where NBN Co installs fibre optic cables. Copper lines were expected to remain in place where premises were connected by satellite or fixed wireless.
The competition watchdog must still approve a structural separation undertaking from Telstra. The telco was expected to submit an updated undertaking in coming weeks, after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission indicated it could not accept the first submission.
Mr Quigley also indicated that as part of the new deal Telstra could continue offering cut-price telephone services for pensioners on the new network. And NBN Co had calculated retail price would be lower or the same on its network than on the Telstra network today.
''We have allowed for [pensioner prices] in the deal we have done with Telstra. So voice-only prices should not increase from where they are now. [But] I can't guarantee that because I am not the retailer, I am the wholesaler.''