Despite concerns aired by the latest report of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which stated that the national broadband network may prove too costly and could lead to significant financial limbo, the federal government maintained its faith on the project's viability.

In reaction to the lukewarm review handed down by the Paris-based institution on the roll out of the $43 billion NBN, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy stressed that OECD may have entertained some valid reservations on the project but it clarified that its realisation is vital for Australia to catch up on broadband technological advancement.

Senator Conroy downplayed the issues raised by the OECD report as he pointed to NBN's long term benefit of delivering high-speed internet access across Australia and consequently proving over the long haul that the initiative was viable to begin with.

While standing pat on NBN's promised benefits, the communications minister still dodge suggestions from opposition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull that the project needs to be subjected on a cost-benefit analysis to be undertaken by the Productivity Commission.

He also countered the recent claims by giant telco providers such as Telstra and Optus that the government monopoly of broadband services could hinder the introduction of technological breakthroughs in Australia.

Senator Conroy believed otherwise as he pointed out that NBN simply represents the advent of a much superior technology, arguing too that much of the negative stories being circulated so far about the project amounted to nothing but negative publicity campaign by some quarters, including the Coalition and some media outlets.

He said that the solutions so far pushed by Mr Turnbull were actually push backs for obsolete and discarded technologies yet the opposition lawmaker hit back at Mr Conroy by saying that the NBN would not be able to hurdle the strict assessment of the Productivity Commission.

Mr Turnbull conceded that he NBN may be representative of the most advance technology in broadband services but its successful roll out rests more on its economic viability as he stressed that Mr Conroy should acknowledge that a digital divide exists in Australia.

He pointed to a recent data furnished by the Australian Bureau of Statistics which showed that less than 50 percent of Aussie households with an annual average income of $40,000 could afford broadband connections while 95 percent of those earning $120,000 each year enjoy internet connections at home.

Mr Turnbull reiterated that NBN's successful hook up would greatly hinge on home incomes, the service's affordability and Australia's less fortunate sectors who should also be given premium in accessing the national broadband network.