8 billion evaporates from the nbn.., page-29

Strange thing is head, there appears to be no $8bn saving but rather a $7bn saving by paying Telstra $13bn.

But then the NBNco chief tries to say the telstra payment is not really a cost because they will get it back through revenue. I'm not sure that's playing fair. It's still a cost just like the building of the network.

It appears they have snuck in a few changes to the planned network also as a matter of saving a few dollars.

Can anyone enlighten us on these matters? Are these changes the result of coalition pressure to save a dollar? Especially given that they will need an extra $bn just to achieve these changes.