Two million households and businesses in Australia’s biggest states are now able to access upgrades to world-class, full fibre broadband over the National Broadband Network, as a result of investment from the Australian Government.
Upgrades in New South Wales and Victoria mean one million premises in each state can now upgrade from slower, less reliable copper connections to fibre-to-the-premises.
Fibre is capable of delivering speeds 18x faster than the average broadband connection over copper, and is less likely to drop out or degrade.
This milestone means more people than ever before across both States can enjoy faster speeds while streaming, gaming and working from home, and continues the Albanese Government’s commitment to deliver high speed broadband and keep communities connected.
Following NBN Co’s initial construction work, fibre upgrades are available on-demand at no installation cost when an eligible household or small business takes out an eligible higher-speed plan.
Average data usage in Australia has increased 10 times over the last 10 years, with the average home now hosting 21 internet-connected or smart devices.
NBN Co is currently consulting with industry on a new plan to turbocharge speeds available over the network. The plan would give customers who upgrade to full-fibre speeds of up to 500Mbps, at no extra wholesale cost.
Upgrades to full fibre access are continuing across the country, with the Albanese Government investing $2.4 billion to expand full-fibre access to an additional 1.5 million premises – including over 660,000 in regional communities.
Upgrades to the network will enable more than 10 million homes and businesses to access NBN Co’s fastest residential speed plan by the end of 2025.
Check if your property can get full fibre by going to https://www.nbnco.com.au/residential/upgrades/more-fibre#checkaddress.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Communications, the Hon Michelle Rowland MP:
“Fast and reliable full-fibre broadband unlocks greater social inclusion and economic productivity. It’s essential infrastructure in 2024.
“This is a fantastic milestone for two million households in New South Wales and Victoria who have been saddled with slow and unreliable copper technology rolled out by the former Liberal-National Government.
“Access to this technology is a gamechanger for families who have had to struggle with drop outs and slow speeds over copper.
“I strongly encourage households to check the NBN website to see if you might be eligible for a full-fibre upgrade”.
