In western Canada, the majority of the run is fibre with the last mile using coax. This seems like a good compromise for delivering gigabit internet. It works well for me.
Daintree in FNQ for example, quite a lot of inner australia. Don't get me wrong... I do understand the complexities of delivery, but it isn't perfect either.
My interpretation of the various data points was that it likely did result is a faster roll-out, at pretty much similar costs as FTTP w/ higher maintenance and sooner need to replace.
In other words it did what governments have become expert at, mortgaging the future for the present.