Broadband(/Broadband) / Guides(/Broadband/Guides)

NBN Guide: What You Need to Know

ByJosephHanlon(https://www.whistleout.com.au/Broadband/Articles/Author/JosephHanlon) 10May2016
WhistleOut

TheNationalBroadbandNetwork(NBN)isanAustraliawideprojectfundedbytheFederalGovernmenttoprovideallhomesand
businesseswithafast,reliableconnectiontotheinternet.

ThecurrentFederalGovernmenthascommittedtobuildamixedtechnologynetwork,withsomehousesconnectingtothecorenetwork
usingfastfibreopticcableandothersusingtheexistingcopperphonelines.ForhomesnotphysicallyconnectedtotheNBNtherewillbe
FixedWirelessandSatelliteInternetoptionsmadeavailable.

Inthisarticlewe'lladdressboththetechnologicalandpracticalaspectsassociatedwithconnectingtotheNBN,especiallythepartsyou
needtoknowbeforeanNBNtechniciancomesknockingonyourdoor.

WhatdoyouneedtodotoconnecttotheNBN?
ConnectingtotheNBN,includingallofthenecessaryequipment,iscompletelyfree.Youdon'tneedtodo
anythinguntilitistimetochooseanewNBNplan(/Broadband/NationalBroadbandNetworkNBNPlans).

AcrossAustraliarightnowthereareteamsofinstallersworkinghardtoconnecteveryhometothenetwork.Inmostcases,thisinvolves
layingfibreopticcablesunderthestreet,soyoushouldbeginseeingthisworkinyourneighbourhoodsoon.

TofindoutwhentheNBNiscomingtoyourneighbourhood,youcanchecktheNBNcowebsite(http://www.nbnco.com.au/connecthome
orbusiness/checkyouraddress.html).

Thereare2maintypesofNBNconnections;FibretothePremises(FttP)andFibretotheNode(FttN).Dependingonwhichtechnologyis
beinginstalledinyourarea,theinstallationprocesswillvary.

ForFibretothePremisesconnections
Generally,homeandbusinessownersdontneedtodoanythingtoassistthisprocess.YoullbenotifiedwhentheNBNiscomingtoyour
areaandtheworkerswillinstallaNBNUtilityBoxatadesignatedtime,evenifyourenothome.Thisboxispositionedontheoutsideof
yourhouse,sotheinstallersdon'tneedaccesstotheinsideofyourhome.

Onceyourhouseisconnected,youhavetheoptiontocontactaRetailServiceProvider,likeTelstra,Optus,iiNet,etc,tosubscribetoan
NBNbroadbandplan(/Broadband/NationalBroadbandNetworkNBNPlans).WhenyoubookanewNBNservice,atimewillbemadefor
anNBNinstallertocomebacktoyourhouseandinstalltheNBNConnectionBoxinsideyourhouse.Again,thispartoftheprocessif
completelyfreeofcharge.

AllofthenecessaryequipmentforanNBNservicelooklikethis:
YouwillstillneedtohaveaworkingWiFirouterinsideyourhometoshareyourinternetconnectionwithallthedevicesinyourhome,and
youllneedtopayforabroadbandplan,likeyoudotoday.

ForFibretotheNodeconnections
Aspartofthemixedtechnologynetworkconstruction,somehouseswithbeconnectedtotheNBNviaaneighbourhoodnode.Thisis
midwayconnectionpointbetweenthecoreNBNhardwareandyourhome.NBNinstallerswilllayfibrecableupuntilthenodeandthenrely
ontheexistingcoppertelephonewirestocompletetheconnectiontoyourhome.

ThismeansthatNBNinstallerswillnotneedtoattachanynewequipmenttoyourhouse.Youwillnotneedtobeavailableforavisitfroma
technician.NBNwilltellyouwhentheconnectionhasbeencompleteandyoucancontactaserviceprovidertosupplyanewNBNservice.

YouwillneedanewNBNcompatiblerouterinsideyourhouse,butyoushouldfindthatmostserviceproviderswillincludeoneinyour
broadbandpackageatnocost.

IstheNBNmoreexpensive?
Ingeneral,theNBNshouldntbemoreexpensive,unlessyouwantthefastestspeeds.

TheGovernmentiscontrollingwholesalepricingtomakesurethateveryonecanconnecttothenetworkatafairprice,andthisis
holdingtruesofar.

TheNBNcomesin5speedtiers.Eachisessentiallythesameproduct,butincrementallyfasterasyoustepupthetiers.For
reference,thisishowthetiersarecurrentlylaidout,withseparatedownloadanduploadspeeds.

The5NBNspeedtiers:
Tier1:12Mbpsdownlink/1Mbpsuplink

Tier2:25Mbpsdownlink/5Mbpsuplink

Tier3:25Mbpsdownlink/10Mbpsuplink
Tier4:50Mbpsdownlink/20Mbpsuplink

Tier5:100Mbpsdownlink/40Mbpsuplink

InthetwoyearssinceNBNplansstartedpoppingup,wehaven'tnoticedanydifferenceinthepriceofaTier1orTier2NBNplans
comparedwithastandardADSL2+connection,evenwhenitisbundledwithahomephoneserviceorinternetTV,likeFoxtel.

YouwillpaymorethefasterTier4andTier5products,eitherbychoosingamoreexpensiveplan,orbyoptinginfora"SpeedBoost"
onastandardNBNplan.

Forexample,Telstracurrentlychargea$20permonthfeeforaSpeedBoostwhichwillkickyouupfromTier2toTier5.Optuswill
boostyoufromTier1toTier2for$10permonth,oruptoTier4for$30permonth.

ClickHerefortheLatestNBNPlanPricing(/Broadband/NationalBroadbandNetworkNBNPlans)

HomePhoneConnectionsandBackupPower
TheNBNwilleventuallyphaseouttheoldcopperphoneservicesweusetoday,andreplacethemwithsimilarservicesdeliveredbythe
internet.

HomephoneswillconnecttoUNIVphoneservices,providedbyyourinternetsupplier.UNIViscompatiblewitholdanaloguephone
systems,soyoucankeepyourexistinghandset,butyoudoneedtohaveyourproviderswitchyourserviceoversoyoucankeepyourold
number.

EveryNBNConnectionBoxcomeswithtwoUNIVports,whichgivesyoutheoptiontohavetwodifferentUNIVserviceproviders.You
mightuseoneforfamilyphonecallsandtheotherforabusinesspurpose,forexample.

ThedownsidetoaUNIVconnectionisthat,unlikethecurrentanaloguesystem,itreliesonelectricitytowork.Ifyouhaveapoweroutage,
theNBNConnectionboxwillreverttoaBackupPowerSupplyUnit(picturedabove),whichwillkeepyouonlinefor5hours.Afterthis,you
wontbeabletomakephonecallsuntilpowerisrestored.

InsidetheNBNConnectionBox,notethetwoUNIV(voice)andfourUNID(data)ports:

TheDifferenceBetweenFTTHandFTTN
HeateddebatescontinuetorageregardinghowtheconstructionoftheNBNshouldproceed.Currently,thetwomainargumentsare
betweenFibretotheHome/Premises(FTTH/FTTP)andFibretotheNode(FTTN).

Importantly,youdon'thaveasayinwhichtechnologyoptionisinstalledforfreeatyourhouseunderthecurrentrolloutplans.There
maybeawayforyourtopayapremiumforabetterconnection,butthiswouldbeprettyexpensive(i.e.:thousandsortensof
thousandsofdollars).

Inverygeneralterms,FTTHisasystemwheresuperfastfibreopticcablecarriesthebroadbandsignalfromtheprovideralltheway
toyourhome.Onthewayitpassesthroughnodes,whichactasmidwayconnectionpointsbetweenyourhouseandthelocal
telephoneexchange.

Thereasonthissystemissofastisthatfibreopticcableuseslighttotransmitdata,ratherthanelectricalimpulsessentalonga
copperwire.Essentially,datacanbetransmittedatnearlightspeeds.Fibreopticcablealsorequireslessmaintenancethancopper,
asitdoesnotdegradeasquicklyovertime.

FTTN,againsimplyput,runsfibreopticfromtheprovidertothenodeinthesamewaythatFTTHdoes,butthenreliesonexisting
copperwiringtotakethesignaltherestoftheway.TheGovernmentsaysitismuchcheapertorolloutFTTN,butitisgenerally
acknowledgedthatthismethodisspeedlimitingandwillrequiresahigherlevelofongoingmaintenance.

WhyistheNBNsoimportant?
Youmaynotrecogniseitnow,buttheinternetiscentraltothewaywewillcontinuetoliveandworkintotheforeseeablefuture.Whatis
hardertopredictishowwewillusetheinternet,andwhetherthesefuturepurposeswillrequireeverfasterconnection.TheNBNisabout
futureproofingAustralianhomesandbusinesses.

Whenyouthinkabouttheinternetasweuseittoday,itmaybedifficulttofindsoundreasoningforsuperchargingthecurrentnetworks.
Afterall,ADSLbroadbandissufficientforgeneralwebbrowsing,FacebookandevenvideostreamingviasiteslikeNetflix.

Itisalsosuitableformostbusinesspurposes.Theinternetpowerscustomerdatabases,payrollsandwecanevenworkremotely,ina
pinch.

Butimagine,inthefuture,ifyoucouldvisitthedoctorfromyourbedroom.ThatwithahighdefinitionvideocallyourGPcouldcouldconsult
withyouaseffectivelyasifyouwereinthesameroom.Orimagineyouliveinaregionaltownandthenearestschoolisoveranhouraway
bybus.WiththeNBN,itwouldbepossibleforallstudentstodialintotheclassroomandparticipateremotely.

Beyondthesesimpleexamplesarethemultitudeofnewopportunitiesthathaventevenbeencreatedyet.Recenthistoryhasproventhat
astechnologyadvancesnewindustryandthousandsofjobsarecreated.Theideaofainternetconnectedsmartphoneswouldhave
seemedfarfetched,even20or30yearsago.Whatwillthenext20yearsbring?Bycreatingthisenormouswebofcommunication,faster
thananythingevermadeavailabletoAustraliansbefore,wewillbeallowingthetransmissionofideasonalargerscalethanatanytimein
historyandinnovationwillcertainlyfollow.

Comparisonsmaybedrawntootheremergingtechnologiesthroughouthistory.Taketheadventofelectricity;fewcouldhaveforeseen
microwaves,televisionsanddishwashersasthefirstDCpowerplantsweremakingtheirwayacrossNewYork.

Theprintingpress,whenfirstadoptedinEurope,allowedforanationalidentitybeyondthatofjustatown,orprovince.Aworkerin
GloucestercouldsuddenlykeepabreastofnewscomingoutofLondonandfeelasthoughtheywerepartofthedecisionsbeingmadein
theircountry.

Televisions,telephones,mobilephones,computerchips,automobiles,airplanes;theseareallexamplesoftechnologiesthathaveshaped
ourworldinwaysthatmayseemobviousnow,butcouldntbeconceivedofwhenfirstintroduced.

Observehowfartheinternetitselfhascomesinceitwasfirstcommercialisedinthe1990s.Eachsuccessivestepwasmadeavailableby
fasterinternetspeeds,drivenbyhigherdemandsformoredetailedandinnovativeonlinecontent.Thisinturnledtoahigherdemandand,
assuch,higherspeedsagain.Superfastopticalfibrebroadbandisjustanotherstepintheprocess.Itmayseemunnecessarilyfastto
somepeoplerightnow,butinten,ortwentyyearstimeitwont.

TheNBNwilldeliverAustraliansandAustralianbusinessesintothefuturethroughatrulymodernbroadbandexperience.Inacountryas
geographicallyisolatedasours,keepingupwithinternettechnologiescouldnotbemoreimportant.

LaptopandFutureTechnologyimagesviaShutterstock(http://www.shutterstock.com/pic185964323/stockphotocloseuphands
multitaskingmanusinglaptopconnectingwifi.html?src=0ZLkwUCOU1HwKPZjn9DGDA11)

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