Traralgon is at the centre of a nbn® trial of temporary network infrastructure that can be deployed at times of emergency to restore and maintain critical broadband and communication services.
A Point-of-Interconnect On Wheels semi-trailer has been setup at the local exchange and is being tested as part of nbn’s emergency preparedness to respond to natural, or other disasters that may occur and damage critical infrastructure.
Within the nbn network, the Point-of-Interconnect is a critical component, joining other retail service provider networks to the nbn network. From there the nbn network carries all customer traffic from the POI to customer homes and businesses. Each POI serves tens-of-thousands of customers, and in some cases, entire regions, and regional cities and towns.
There are 121 POIs which serve the entire nbn footprint and the 8.5 million homes and business connected to the nbn.
nbn Executive General Manager, Network Management Darren Mills said the trial, running through late October to November, is testing the ability to restore and maintain services should damage occur to critical infrastructure (like an exchange building).
The trial is also testing the functionality of the equipment, and that it can work at all 121 nbn POI network sites.
“We have invested in assets that can be deployed relatively quickly to restore services while we complete network recovery,” Mr Mills said.
“This forms part of our national emergency and disaster preparedness plans. This is the first trial of this type we have done in Australia.”
The Point-of-Interconnect on Wheels semi-trailer could support anywhere between 192,000 to 500,000 customer services for as long as necessary.
Additionally – nbn is urging communities, if they haven’t started already, to begin planning and testing residential evacuation and business continuity plans.
“Our network is built and designed to be as resilient as possible,” Mr Mills said.
“Where physical damage is caused by extreme events, we have assets that can be mobilized quickly to help restore nbn services as quickly as possible.
“However, the majority of outages on the nbn network during emergencies are caused by power outages so it’s important people have a plan to stay connected and updated by other means should power outages happen and disrupt connectivity.”
