What is the nbn™?

Very simply explained, it is the new (predominately fibre based) Broadband internet technology currently being rolled out by the NBN™ to homes and businesses across Australia.

The National Broadband Network (NBN) is still a broadband connection, as is ADSL. A fixed internet connection, but in this case, it’s not copper.

The NBN is different to ADSL because it uses mainly fibre.

The main difference is that the NBN is not restricted as ADSL was. ADSL had a 1Mbps upload technical restriction.

To roll out a brand new fibre network across such a vast country like Australia, with such a relatively small and spread out population is a tricky task. It is for this reason, wireless, copper, co-axial cable and satellite and a mix of other technologies have all been used to achieve the new rollout.

Could have it been done better? For sure!
Could have it been done faster? For sure!
Cheaper? Definitely.

Do we or you have any control over the above? No we don’t.

So it is with this in mind…the purpose of this article is to simply explain what the NBN is in Australia.

Fibre means that data across the internet can travel at the speed of light which means it is much faster than copper or mobile or anything else until someone can find anything faster than the speed of light. However with lots and lots of factors to consider and financial implications, it is not as simple as this and the NBN connection to your premises may in certain cases be made up of various technologies. And because of this, warp speed will not always be possible. But it definitely has the potential to be much much faster than ADSL which is definitely a good thing.

nbn™ Fibre to the premises
nbn™ Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) is the where the NBNCo. have
opted to run a fibre optic line all the way to your premises.

nbn™ Fibre to the Node
nbn™ Fibre to the Node (FTTN) is where Fibre is run to an existing node
and then the last part uses the existing copper network.

nbn™ Fibre to the Building
nbn™ Fibre to the Building (FTTB) is generally used when connecting an apartment
block or similar type of building to the nbn™ broadband access network. Very similar to FTTN but just in an apartment and not an individual premise.

nbn™Fibre to the Curb
nbn™ Fibre to the Curb (FTTC) is a mix of Fibre to your street or street nearby, and then the
final mile/stretch uses the existing copper line to your premises. In reality this uses a shorter length of copper than FTTN.

nbn™ Hybrid Fibre Coaxial
nbn™ Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) is used in circumstances where the existing ‘pay TV’ or
co-axial cable network can be used to reach your premises.

All types of nbn™ broadband access network connections that utilise a physical line running to the premises (FTTP, FTTN, FTTB, FTTC, HFC) are considered nbn™ Fixed Line connections. The difference between each type of connection simply comes down to how existing network technology is utilised in connecting the nearest available fibre node to your specific premises.

Connections that receive a signal from a Wireless tower in the area are considered Wireless NBN. Signals received by Satellite are considered SatelliteNBN or SkyMusterNBN.

The tower will be services by fibre, so again, it is only the last portion serviced by wireless.

Once built, the nbn™ can also deliver your telephone service if you still want one, by using VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) basically by plugging in a VoIP handset to your NTD or Modem/Router in FTTN/FTTB/FTTC connections.

nbn™ Speed

Broadband speed is measured in Mbps Download/Upload.  There are four main speed Tiers available subject to the technology available in your area and what particular ISPs offer:
25/5, 25/10, 50/20, 100/40

There is also a speed that is not considered by the nbn™ as “Fast”. This is 12/1 speed and is only really suitable for basic connections where emailing and general browsing is the only activity you are doing. Anything more than that such as streaming videos then it is worthwhile considering the higher speeds.

It’s important to note that the speed tier is a guide provided by the nbn™ and that there are several factors that can affect your experience.