NBN testing sites named

About 12,000 homes across Australia will receive new high speed broadband services early next year as part of the federal government rollout.

NBN Co (NBN) has selected five sites in Victoria, NSW, Queensland and South Australia to test-run the service before it's rolled out nationwide.

"We are using them to validate our network design, to have a look at our construction and installation techniques, and test all of the different requirements as we move about in different geographies in Australia," NBN's CEO Mike Quigley told reporters in Sydney on Tuesday.

The sites are based on a range of criteria including demographics, climate, existing infrastructure and terrain.

The five sites include 2900 premises in the inner city Melbourne suburb of Brunswick, 3100 homes in Townsville, Queensland, and 1000 premises at the rural town of Willunga, South Australia.

Two communities in NSW will trial the high speed broadband service - those living in the coastal communities of Minnamurra and Kiama Downs on the NSW south coast, and in an area west of Armidale, in northern NSW.

The service will eventually be delivered to 90 per cent of homes and businesses across Australia, giving them broadband speeds of 100 megabits per second.

The scheme, estimated to cost $43 billion, will also be the largest single infrastructure investment in Australia's history.

The trial sites were not chosen for political reasons, Mr Quigley said when asked how many were in "marginal seats".

"Site selection was pretty straightforward," he said.

"It was mostly about geo-spacial characteristics."

Work on the NBN is already progressing in Tasmania, with the first services due to be delivered to premises from July this year.

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy was reluctant to comment on NBN Co's prices.

"We will be pricing at market, what you would expect us to price at market to be competitive to get uptake onto the network," he said.