Member-elect for New England Barnaby Joyce has said the government will honour its contractual obligations. 

Telecommunications advocate Alun Davies said the contracts to connect the remaining premises in the north of Armidale were already awarded before the election.

But surrounding areas such as Guyra, Uralla and Inverell will miss out and receive the Coalition’s alternative. 

Mr Davies said there were 2000 premises in the north of Armidale where street cabling has not been provided however he said these could still be connected.

Ascent Group chief executive Kevin Mead said his business in Acacia Park had not been connected despite $220,000 being assigned to NBN Co to connect the area. 

Mr Mead said the National Broadband Network would keep businesses competitive.

“For our business and the other businesses in Acacia Park its crucial to be competitive. It’s ludicrous that most of Armidale is connected when an area producing 12 per cent of the city’s income isn’t,” he said.

Armidale resident and NBN user Nathan Heberley works in business intelligence. 

He says the NBN has been great for his business since his job requires a lot of data transfer.

Mr Heberly said the Coalition’s plan was not about creating a good service. 

“Fibre to the node is an economic decision not about the best product, it’s about squeezing the last juice out of the copper network. Maybe if they had started a fibre to the node network in 2003 it would have worked but it’s too late,” he said.

The University of New England’s David Lamb said farmers shouldn’t be any better or worse off either way since both policies provide comparable satellite speeds. 

“As far as farmers are concerned there is very little difference,” Professor Lamb said. “When it comes down to the technology the concern has been will the satellite product give them what they need.”