The timing of your connection to the NBN will depend on your arrangement with your service provider.

If your service provider becomes an NBN service provider, they may offer to migrate you to the NBN before your contract expires. Otherwise, there may be options to exit your contract early or move to another provider that offers NBN services. 

Please speak to your service provider in the first instance if you are interested in getting an NBN service.

NBN optic fibre services are available in:

•  NSW – Armidale, Kiama
• Qld – Townsville
• SA – Aldinga
• Tas – Midway Point, Scottsdale, Smithton
• Vic – Brunswick

For more information on NBN service providers visit NBN Co’s website.

Yes, if your internet service provider offers services on the NBN.

In the communities where NBN optic fibre services are available, there are already a number of providers offering retail services on the network.

For more information about NBN service providers visit NBN Co’s website.

NBN Co is offering a free standard connection to the network when the NBN is first rolled out in each suburb. Consumers will generally not need to rewire their home.

Some people may want additional wiring or outlets installed in their home for a variety of reasons, and if so they can discuss those options with service providers – this is the same situation that exists now with any broadband service.

Existing computers that are capable of using a broadband internet connection should not need to be upgraded to connect to the NBN.

NBN Co is offering a free standard connection to the network when the NBN is first rolled out in each suburb and people are encouraged to take up this offer when the network comes to their area.

There will be lots of information available to ensure consumers know when the NBN is being rolled out in their area, and what they need to do.

Decisions on whether people will have to pay if they decide later that they want an NBN connection have not yet been made.

NBN Co is offering a free standard connection to the network when the NBN is rolled out in each suburb. This includes the standard installation of a network termination device — the box which provides connection to the NBN — at the premises of all consenting customers.

This installation means that, for most people, it will be a simple exercise of plugging existing equipment into the network termination device in order to access NBN services.

It is important to note that in some cases, charges may apply for non-standard installations.

NBN Co will contact residents and property owners to explain connection options when the NBN rollout starts in your area.

The government has established NBN Co Limited (NBN Co), to design, build and operate the NBN. NBN Co is a wholly Commonwealth-owned company.

NBN Co will remain in full government ownership until the network is built and fully operational, ensuring the government’s objectives are met.

On 28 March 2011, the Parliament passed the NBN Companies Act 2011 and the Telecommunications Legislation Amendments (National Broadband Network Measures – Access Arrangements) Act 2011. These Acts set out a clear and robust process that must be followed before the Commonwealth can privatise NBN Co.

The future privatisation of NBN Co will be subject to a rigorous process, including a review by the Productivity Commission, consideration by a Joint Parliamentary Committee and the decision of the Parliament of the day.

For more information on NBN Co and its operations visit NBN Co’s website.

On 20 December 2010, NBN Co’s Corporate Plan confirmed the total capital expenditure for the project is estimated to be $35.9 billion, less than the government’s original $43 billion estimate. The government expects to contribute $27.5 billion in equity for the rollout.

NBN Co’s Corporate Plan confirms that the NBN will provide all Australians with world-class broadband on a financially viable basis at affordable prices.

Every Australian community — metropolitan, regional, rural and remote — will have access to high-speed broadband services at affordable prices.

NBN Co will offer uniform national wholesale pricing across the three technologies of fibre to premises, fixed wireless and next-generation satellite, meaning that people will pay the same wholesale price for the same broadband service, whether they live in the cities or in the bush.

While service providers will determine retail pricing, the government expects this will translate into prices that will be both affordable and very competitive, as wholesale access is by far the largest single component influencing retail pricing.

Recently released NBN pricing plans confirm that current NBN retail service prices compare well with long-standing prices for technologies such as ADSL.

For more information on retail pricing, visit NBN Co’s website to find a service provider.

The Digital Enterprise is a free program that will assist small-to-medium enterprises and not-for-profit organisations (including local cultural organisations) to better understand how they can take advantage of the National Broadband Network (NBN) and online opportunities more generally.

Participants will learn how to use the NBN to diversify their operations by allowing them to improve their online presence, offer new products and services, expand their market, improve their competitiveness, and increase their means of communicating with customers and suppliers.
Those who attend one or more training seminars will also be eligible to receive an additional four hours of tailored one-on-one training to assist them with their individual business requirements.

When will the Digital Enterprise program operate?
The program will be delivered over three years from 2011-12 to 2013-14.

Where will the Digital Enterprise program be established?
The Digital Enterprise program will be available in the first 40 communities that will benefit from the NBN.
 
Why is the government running this program?
Evidence repeatedly indicates that a key reason cited for not being connected online is a lack of perceived need. The Digital Enterprise program will communicate the benefits of the NBN and demonstrate its relevance to those small-to-medium enterprises and not-for-profit organisations (including local cultural institutions) not yet online.

Without such assistance there is a very real risk of declining productivity and competitiveness, and regional communities becoming economically stranded because of a lack of up-take of new technology.

How can I find out more?
For more information, please contact the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy via freecall on 1800 017 984, weekdays between 8.30am and 5.00pm or email digitalenterprise@dbcde.gov.au

A ‘Digital Hub’ is a community-based computer training and internet access point containing a number of internet ready computers.

Each Digital Hub will be run by staff that will provide training and assistance to explain the benefits of participating online, to drive greater digital literacy skills and to demonstrate the possibilities of using the National Broadband Network (NBN).

Participants will learn how to engage in basic online activities such as setting up an email account; conducting effective internet searches; participating in e-commerce and online shopping; accessing government services; and connecting with family and friends online.

Those who attend a Digital Hub will also have the opportunity to experience the kinds of online services and quality of connection the NBN can deliver.

The Australian Government will provide funding of $23.8 million over three years from 2011-12 for a Digital Communities initiative, a key focus of which will be to establish the Digital Hubs program.

When will the Digital Hubs program operate?
The Program will be delivered over three years from 2011-12 to 2013-14.

Where will the Digital Hubs be available?
The Digital Hubs will be progressively established in the first 40 communities to benefit from the NBN.

Why is the government running this program?
Without such assistance there is a very real risk of a widening gap between those who engage in the digital economy and those who do not; declining productivity and competitiveness; and regional communities becoming economically stranded because of lack of up-take of new technology.

The benefits of online participation will be improved access to social inclusion, education, employment, economic gain and government services such as health and welfare by the regular use of broadband enabled by the NBN.

How can I find out more?
For more information, please contact the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy freecall on 1800 025 145, weekdays between 8.30am and 5.00pm or email digitalhubs@dbcde.gov.au

The digital economy is the global network of economic and social activities that are enabled by information and communications technologies, such as the internet, mobile and sensor networks.
Through participating in the digital economy Australia can boost its productivity, global competitiveness and social wellbeing.

Participating in the digital economy also provides opportunities to improve access to services for people living in rural and regional Australia.

Maximising the full potential of Australia’s digital economy is expected to help deliver improved wellbeing in the form of better economic, education, health, social and environmental outcomes for all Australians.

The NBN represents an investment in the underlying infrastructure that will support the growth of Australia’s digital economy into the future.

Effective use of the NBN is expected to bring benefits in terms of jobs and employment, health, education, the environment, social inclusion and recreation.

More information about Australia’s digital economy can be found in the Australian Government’s 2009 Australia’s Digital Economy: Future Directions paper and the Australian Government’s 2011 National Digital Economy Strategy.

The National Digital Economy Strategy (NDES) sets out a vision for Australia to realise the benefits of the NBN and position Australia as a leading digital economy by 2020.

Ensuring that Australia becomes a leading digital economy will contribute to Australia’s productivity, maintain our global competitiveness and improve our social wellbeing.

The NDES has eight goals, which aim to:

• increase Australian households’ online participation
• increase Australian business’ and not-for-profit organisations’ online engagement
• smartly manage our environment
• improve health and aged care
• expand online education
• increase teleworking
• improved online government service delivery and engagement
• increase digital engagement in regional Australia.

The NDES identifies important areas and initiatives that will contribute to moving Australia towards a digital economy.

The NBN is the first critical step; it will provide high-speed broadband to 100 per cent of Australian homes and businesses.

The NBN will be ubiquitous, reliable, affordable, equitable and well regulated. To accelerate the development of Australia’s digital economy, the Government has announced several new initiatives as part of the NDES.

These include Digital Communities, Digital Enterprise and tele-health trials.

The NDES also calls upon industry, the community and governments to work together to ensure that Australia becomes a leading digital economy by 2020.

NBN Co will release information on the NBN fixed wireless rollout as it becomes available.

For more information on the NBN fixed wireless first release sites, and indicative coverage maps, visit NBN Co’s website.

NBN Co network planners and engineers chose the first five fixed wireless sites because of the availability of key network infrastructure such as the Points of Interconnect (POI) facilities, spectrum availability and NBN Co fibre transit rings.

The five sites all have transit, POI facilities and spectrum available for NBN Co to use in time for the service launch in mid-2012.

NBN Co has brought forward the introduction of the NBN fixed wireless network so that Australians living in rural and regional Australia can get access to better broadband as soon as possible.

NBN Co has announced the first five communities to receive the NBN through its high-speed fixed wireless service. Trials are expected to start in the regions surrounding Ballarat (Vic), Darwin (NT), Geraldton (WA), Tamworth (NSW) and Toowoomba (Qld) from April 2012.

The NBN fixed wireless network will initially offer peak download speeds of 12 megabits per second. NBN Co anticipates higher speeds becoming available as technology advances and the network is upgraded.

The NBN fixed wireless rollout, which uses the latest 4G technology, is expected to be completed by 2015.

The decisions about where to roll out optic fibre are made by a number of engineering and logistic requirements including the availability of existing core infrastructure to connect the access network to, access to the transit network and optic fibre access nodes.

NBN Co will generally continue the rollout where it has already begun until all modules in the optic fibre footprint have been covered. NBN Co also has an obligation to meet its ‘provider of last resort’ responsibilities for new estates (also known as greenfields developments), and once key infrastructure is in place for these new estates, it makes sense to continue to work in areas that link back to the same network infrastructure.

Eight communities have been connected across Australia and the optic fibre network rollout has passed more than 18,500 premises.

NBN Co has released its first three year national rollout plan, with more than 3.5 million premises to have, or be on the way to having, optic fibre services by mid-2015.
On average, it will take 12 months from the start of the optic fibre rollout in a given area until people can connect to the NBN.

For more information on the plan, and to view indicative coverage maps, visit NBN Co’s website.

The Interim Satellite Service (ISS) is designed to assist the transition from the Australian Broadband Guarantee program (ABG) to NBN Co’s long term satellite service.
 
To manage demand levels and ensure continuity between the ABG and the ISS, first priority is given to those who cannot access alternative broadband services.

You may not be eligible for the ISS if there is another provider in your area who can supply you with a metro-comparable broadband service on a commercial basis.

For the purpose of the service a metro-comparable service is defined as providing peak data speeds of 512/128 kilobits per second and a data usage allowance of three gigabytes per month at a total cost of not more than $2500 over three years, including equipment, installation and monthly fees.
 
For more information on ISS eligibility visit NBN Co’s website or contact NBN Co’s Solutions Centre on freecall 1800 881 816.

On 1 July 2011, NBN Co launched the NBN Interim Satellite Service (ISS), providing eligible rural and regional Australians with immediate access to better broadband services. The new service has been designed to provide much improved speed and bandwidth capacity to areas traditionally underserved by broadband access.

The interim service offers users peak speeds of six megabits per second download and one megabit upload. This will provide a significant improvement to those who use existing satellite broadband today.

Nine service providers (Harbour IT, Skymesh, Clear Networks, Bordernet, Activ8Me, Reachnet,  ANT, iiNet and IPSTAR) are now offering commercial ISS services.

The interim service is scheduled to run until 2015 when NBN Co plans to launch two of its own high-capacity satellites.

These satellites will offer service providers a wholesale broadband service with peak speeds of 12 megabits per second download and one megabit per second upload.

For more information on the ISS visit NBN Co’s website or contact NBN Co’s Solutions Centre on freecall 1800 881 816.

Ahead of the 2015 launch of its long term next-generation satellite rollout, NBN Co has put in place an interim satellite service.

The Interim Satellite Service (ISS) offers eligible rural and remote users access to improved satellite broadband services and is designed to assist the transition from the Australian Broadband Guarantee (ABG) program to the long term NBN satellite service.

As part of the NBN long term satellite service, NBN Co has signed a contract for the delivery of two Ka-band satellites and associated tracking, telemetry and control systems.

For more information about the fibre in greenfields policy visit the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy’s website.

For further information on NBN Co’s arrangements visit NBN Co’s website.

Yes. Arrangements are in place so that Australians in new developments have access to a basic voice service on request. Telstra will be required to provide standard telephone services to Australians living in all new developments in which retail services are not offered by another service provider.

For more information on NBN Co’s arrangements visit NBN Co’s website.

In new estates where NBN Co has installed fibre infrastructure, home and business owners will be able to approach service providers to discuss the kinds of products on offer using the NBN.

Where Telstra is providing interim services, NBN Co will roll out fibre when it starts rolling out fibre in that area. In estates serviced by providers other than NBN Co or Telstra, potential purchasers should ask the developer or sales representative about who has installed telecommunications services, who can provide retail services and what services are provided.

In estates serviced by providers other than NBN Co or Telstra, potential purchasers should ask the developer or sales representative about who has installed telecommunications services, who can provide retail services and what services are provided.

People moving into new estates should talk to the developer or property owner to find out whether fibre, or at least fibre-ready passive infrastructure, has been installed at any land or premises they intend to occupy and what telecommunications services are available now.

NBN Co is responsible as fibre provider of last resort for developments of more than 100 lots or units that receive planning approval after 1 January 2011.

Telstra is responsible as provider of last resort for developments of less than 100 lots or units approved after 1 January 2011, pending NBN Co rolling out fibre.

These arrangements are not exclusive. Nothing prevents a developer from requesting any provider (whether it be NBN Co, Telstra or another provider) to service their estate. Any provider is free to comply with such a request, but is not required to do so. Only NBN Co and Telstra, as providers of last resort, must comply with requests in their respective areas of responsibility.

To learn more, visit NBN Co’s website.

For more information on the NBN, you can email us,  call us on freecall 1800 023 076 or visit the following websites:

NBN Co – www.nbnco.com.au
Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy – www.dbcde.gov.au

NBN Co – the company established by the government to design, build and operate the NBN – is moving as quickly as practical to roll out the network. However, consistent with any major project of this size and complexity, it is necessary that the planning and design phases are undertaken to ensure that the rollout occurs as efficiently as possible.

On 29 March 2012, NBN Co released its first three year  national rollout plan, with more than 3.5 million premises to gain access to optic fibre services.

The indicative plan lists locations across Australia where optic fibre services are available, construction has started and work will begin by mid-2015.

For more information on the NBN rollout and to see when it’s coming to your area, visit NBN Co’s website.

Yes. Under the NBN every home, school and workplace will have access to high-speed broadband and the NBN rollout is prioritising regional areas.

See when the NBN is coming to your area: Visit NBN Co’s website >

Yes. The new high-speed, national broadband network will progressively replace the ageing copper network in optic fibre areas.

The NBN will provide faster, more reliable broadband access to all Australian homes and businesses through a mix of optic fibre, fixed wireless and next-generation satellite technologies.

Australia mostly relies on an ageing copper telecommunications network to connect homes to the internet. As a result, our broadband performance lags behind many of the world’s more advanced countries.

The NBN rollout represents a significant leap in the quality and speed of broadband  access currently available to most Australians, and is part of a comprehensive plan to prepare Australia’s telecommunications infrastructure for the future.

The NBN will give every Australian greater access to goods and services, no matter where they live.

It will also change the way healthcare and education can be delivered by allowing people to access more information and services online — particularly in regional and remote areas.

High-speed broadband will also promote efficiency, productivity and new opportunities for businesses, helping them to reach more customers, improve logistics and create new ways of working.

The NBN will provide all users with access to speeds greater than what many people experience on ADSL today, and will offer a more stable and reliable broadband service.

93 per cent of Australian premises will have access to the NBN through optic fibre to the premises, capable of providing broadband speeds of up to one gigabit per second. The remaining 7 per cent of premises will have access to next-generation fixed wireless and satellite technologies, providing peak speeds of 12 megabits per second.

The NBN will give homes and businesses access to both high download and upload speeds, which are essential for applications such as high-definition videoconferencing and the sharing of large files. It will also significantly reduce download times for content with high bandwidth requirements such as television programs, documentaries and movies.

The National Broadband Network (NBN) is a new high-speed broadband network comprising three technologies — optic fibre, fixed wireless and next-generation satellite — which will provide faster, more reliable broadband access to all Australian premises.

• 93 per cent of premises will have access to the NBN through optic fibre to the premises , capable of providing broadband speeds of up to one gigabit per second
• 7 per cent of premises will have access to the NBN through next-generation, high-speed fixed wireless and satellite technologies, providing peak speeds of 12 megabits per second.

The NBN will be Australia’s first national wholesale-only, open access, high-speed broadband network. This means NBN Co Limited – the company established by the government to design, build and operate the NBN – will roll out the network and sell wholesale services at a uniform price to service providers, such as your internet or phone provider. In turn, service providers will offer retail services to you (the consumer).

This is a significant structural change to Australia’s telecommunications industry, aimed at encouraging vibrant competition in the market.

See when the NBN is coming to your area: Visit NBN Co’s website >

The NBN will have the appropriate levels of reliability, resilience and security. NBN Co is working closely with security and law enforcement agencies in the design and construction of the NBN to meet the necessary security requirements.

Satellite broadband is the delivery of broadband data to homes and businesses by satellite.

Satellite broadband is generally used where other broadband access – optic fibre, copper wire DSL or wireless broadband – is not available.

Satellite broadband services offer coverage over large areas. A single satellite can provide coverage for all of Australia and external territories.

As part of the NBN long term satellite service – expected to be launched in 2015 – NBN Co will deploy two next-generation Ka-band satellites to provide access to the NBN outside the optic fibre and fixed wireless footprints. These satellites will be purpose-built to provide high-speed broadband for Australians.
 
Satellite broadband requires a satellite dish and modem to be installed at a home or business, with the dish pointing at the satellite. When you look at a web page or read an email using a satellite broadband connection, it sends information to the satellite which then retransmits it back to a satellite earth station, which is connected to the internet. The information you want – such as web pages, emails and videos – is sent from the earth station to your computer through the satellite.

Fixed wireless broadband is similar to a fixed-line broadband service. The key difference is that it is delivered through the air instead of through an optic fibre cable.

Fixed wireless broadband provides a broadband connection over the air from a radio network base station to a transmitter which is typically attached to the outside of the premises.

Unlike mobile wireless broadband services, the NBN fixed wireless network will be designed to cater for a certain number of customers and services in a given area. This means that the network will be able to deliver a more consistent and reliable service than current mobile wireless services.

The NBN fixed wireless network is expected to provide a service equivalent to, or better than, what many people experience on ADSL today.

Optic fibre is a thin glass or plastic strand that carries light along its length. Light from lasers is shone down the fibre and detected by a receiver at the other end of the fibre.

Optic fibre is capable of transmitting information at a very high rate over very long distances.

It can transmit data much faster than copper or wireless technologies and is able to be upgraded to meet increasing demands for bandwidth. 

There is a trend among countries – such as Japan, South Korea, Denmark and Sweden – towards rolling out optic fibre to premises (also known as ‘fibre to the premises’) as the preferred technology for delivering next-generation broadband.

This is because optic fibre can support the type of broadband service needed for increasingly popular ‘bandwidth hungry’ applications, such as teleconferencing, YouTube, Skype and online gaming.

A ‘bit’ is a basic unit of information in computing.

‘Bits per second’ (bps) is a common measure for data transmission speed. The speed in bps is equal to the number of bits transmitted or received each second.

Larger units are often used to indicate high data speed:

• kilobits per second (kbps) – one thousand bits per second
• megabits per second (Mbps) – one million bits per second (1 Mbps = 1000 kbps)
• gigabits per second (Gbps) – one thousand million bits per second (1 Gbps = 1000 Mbps )

The NBN will provide high-speed, more reliable broadband access to all Australian homes, schools and businesses using a mix of optic fibre to the premises, fixed wireless and next-generation satellite technologies.

The NBN will be Australia’s first national wholesale-only, open access, high-speed broadband network.

This means NBN Co - the company established to design, build and roll out the NBN – will roll out the network and sell wholesale services to service providers (such as your telephone or internet service provider).

When the network is ‘live’ it will be up to service providers to offer retail services to consumers as occurs today – except that those providers will offer services using the NBN.

In the future, service providers will also begin to offer services such as television, movies, video telephony, smart metering and health monitoring over the NBN.

Yes. You will be able to choose a fixed-line phone, without taking out a broadband package.

Australia is moving to a largely optic fibre-based telecommunications network because the copper network is ageing and is not capable of providing the telecommunications services Australia needs for the future.

In the future, most fixed-line, voice-only (‘landline’) services will be delivered over the NBN.

Yes. You will be able to choose a fixed-line phone, without taking out a broadband package.
In the future, most fixed-line, voice-only (‘landline’) services will be delivered over the NBN.

No. The government is committed to the continued availability of voice only services for those who need it, at no greater price than they pay now.

Yes. Number porting arrangements will not change.

If you stay with the same telephone provider following migration from the copper network to the NBN, you will be able to keep the same number.

If you need to change providers then the same rules apply as they do today.

No. Your current phone will work the way it always has. There will be no need to buy a new phone handset unless you want to.

Everyone who currently has a standard telephone service will continue to have a standard telephone service if they wish.

As part of the NBN rollout and an agreement with Telstra, the current copper network which all phones operate on, will be decommissioned in NBN optic fibre areas and services will be migrated to the new network.

This means in NBN optic fibre areas you will be able to use your existing telephone to make phone calls over the NBN, regardless of whether or not you take up a broadband service on the network.

In NBN fixed wireless and satellite areas you will have the choice to maintain your existing phone service over the copper network or access a voice service over the NBN’s fixed wireless and satellite technologies.