As part of wide-sweeping changes to the NBN network strategy identified in September, more than 100,000 premises are set to benefit from the ability to connect Fibre to the Premises. The vastly superior network technology is being made available in areas poorly served by Fibre to the Node, and the first suburbs to benefit have now been identified.
This week, Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said that NBN Co has commenced work with its delivery partners to construct local fibre networks passing more than 100,000 premises which will allow them to upgrade to full fibre to the premise instead of fibre to the node.
The first suburbs to benefit have now been listed, with Fletcher saying:
“This initial footprint has been designed by NBN Co to focus on areas where the company anticipates strong demand from households and businesses, and where NBN Co has established construction and delivery partners that are well resourced and ready to work,” Minister Fletcher said.
“It is cost effective to start work now in these areas, and in this way we can spread and multiply economic activity across the nation by creating jobs and enabling more Australians to realise the benefits of even faster internet.”
The initial footprint will benefit suburbs in New South Wales most of all, with relatively fewer suburbs also covering smaller areas) being announced for other states:
- Belmont North, Charlestown, Toronto, Carramar, Castle Hill, Holsworthy, Liverpool, and Wetherill Park in New South Wales
- Lyndhurst and Narre Warren in Victoria
- Acacia Ridge, Browns Plains, Eight Mile and Oxenford in Queensland
- Osborne in South Australia
- Cannington and Double View in Western Australia
With access to fibre to the premises, connections in these suburbs will be capable of gigabit speeds. Unlike the initial fibre to the premise (FTTP) rollout, though, fibre will not be run to each and every single household – instead, it will be run in the street, and connections to individual premises will be made when and if a higher NBN speed tier is ordered.
For those customers happy with their existing plan and speed, no immediate changes will occur. However, once the fibre network is built, those premises passed by it need only order a faster plan, and a full FTTP connection will be built, enabling gigabit speeds for anyone who wants it.
This is only the beginning, said Fletcher, with the initial footprint covering just 5% of the premises that will, ultimately, be able to connect to full fibre broadband.
It is, obviously, early days – there is little clarity about the precise mechanics and timing for people in these suburbs and when they will be able to take advantage of an (essentially) free fibre upgrade. However, as always, the process will be delivered by RSPs and customers will – when the time is right – be able to order a faster service (and fibre upgrade) simply by contacting their provider and starting the process.
What about canning Vale in western Australia?
What about it?
Nothing is known about any other suburb other than what’s on the list above.
Typical Brisbane in South East Queensland always first never a regional centre. Whoever makes these decisions cannot see outside the SE Queensland.
Wasn’t FTTP the original scope of the NBN?
Liberal Party in NSW and Gladys have taken a hit recently. These /bad news stories” also cast a bad light on Federal Libs. The areas / suburbs chosen would have been chosen somehow, some way for “hopeful political gain”
Checking Aussie broadbans POI checker shows Bassendean and Kelmscott as the highest usage POI areas in Perth. Not sure how indicitive that is, But its all we got just found it interesting.
It would be nice if the streets that have so many cables overhead they cast a shadow would be first. Pilgrim St in Footscray is spiders web city then add the appalling workmanship of NBN contractors and you have a real mess,
We’re at the end of a street, and cop a lower speed as a result. We are inside optuses 5g circle, but in a hollow. Hopefully, this is upgraded soon.
Hello Chris,firstly thank you for writing the article.We seem to suffer from poor internet speeds here at Acacia ridge,on mobile devices and the NBN.We recently had the NBN connected with belong,and at first watching any video content streaming into our smart TV and our phones seemed to improve things ,however we still suffer from the buffering and loading (the circle of dots going round and round) or just screen locks up.How will we know if the upgrade has been done so we can determine if there is another problem with our service?Will NBN leave a notice in our letterbox?
Would be nice if NBN Co actually connected regional and rural areas with fixed wireless and fiber instead of wasting more and more money on the cities where they are spoilt for choice already.
Mt Burr in the Lower South East SA was promised fixed wireless in 2012 but that was forgotten about quickly when it came to the crunch….considering we have a small school and are served by ageing ADSL copper wire infrastructure NBN keeps telling us we have the superior Skymuster service but reality this is no faster then the current ADSL 19mbs/1mbs.
Queensland suburbs are not what you would consider high end, which is good, give everyone a chance at it!
Thanks to the retards in the liberal government who choose to double spend on this NBN. Fibre to every house should have happened. Idiots.
How about setting it up in rural areas like kalgoorlie where there are lots of mining companies and businesses who rely on high speed internet, also there alot of gamers out here, being in such a remote area.
Any possibility they’re Coalition seats?
Narre Warren VIC most definitley is. But with a big margin so choosing NW cannot be pork barrelling. However, the FTTN in NW is extremely poor due to the condition/age of our copper. But knowing my luck, the FTTP will roll right past my street. Funny thing is, I am happy to sign a long term contract with an RSP on a higher plan (would be looking for something like the 250/20Mbps plan) just to get speeds faster than the 53Mbps that I will ever get on FTTN.
There are quite a number of suburbs that already fibre in the street as part of new subdivisions (as funded by developers). Surely it would be simpler and more cost effective to connect those to homes in the fist batch.
Just wow. Curse the wasteful LNP
Huh. To be honest I wouldn’t trust Fletcher as far is could throw him – or fling him using a trebuchet. This doesn’t seem to have a demand perspective at all related to it with those two Victorian suburbs. Narre Warren certainly isn’t a high income suburb. It is mostly business oriented with the Fountain Gate shopping centre smack bang on the middle of it. I couldn’t say about the other state’s suburbs involved. Knowing the NBN, they’ll be taken the easy way and going for the suburbs with the least degraded copper network (that they can salvage for elsewhere… Read more »
NW has very poor copper. Max speeds on FTTN is 53Mbps. I live in an estate that is 14yrs old but Telstra used 0.3micron copper (when standard was 0.7 micron) so left us in a situation where there is no opportunity to get faster speeds. Yes Fountain Gate is in the middle of NW but the residents deserve the ability to get faster speeds. Imagine being stuck in a situation where the residents have no chance of ever getting faster speeds. I live in NW and look forward to the upgrade. Happy to sign a long term contract if that… Read more »
What about Innaloo in Western Australia when are we getting the upgrade
Any hints as to why NBNCo expect strong demand in the suburbs?
Are they high income suburbs, higher proportion of younger people or some other factor?
There doesn’t seem to be any real demand pattern for it; it seems to be just proximity to existing infrastructure is my guess.
Narre Warren certainly isn’t a high income suburb. But it is mostly business oriented with the Fountain Gate shopping centre smack bang on the middle of it.
Probably because some politicians/beurocrats own land in these suburbs.
Now thats my opinion.
Roads in Flinders Vic are great, Mornington doads same council are shit, holes all over.
Money talks.
Quite a few of those suburbs are in no way high income high demand suburbs, given that the original ALP fibre to the home NBN proposal that was being rolled out was deliberately crushed by the NLP, in a secret sweetheart deal with Rupert Murdoch where he promised to get them elected if they would cripple the NBN so as not to compromise Foxtel profits who were not yet ready for digital competition, then Murdoch was immediately forgiven a 450 million-dollar tax debt the ATO was about to sue him for, then suddenly the NBN purchased all the coax cable… Read more »