As a part of the Federal Government’s plan for a better National Broadband Network (NBN), more than one million additional homes and businesses will be able to upgrade to a full-fibre broadband connection.
The Government announced a list of new eligible suburbs which contain premises that are still currently served by the outdated copper network.
These upgrades are part of the NBN’s fibre upgrade program which has been boosted by the Federal Government’s commitment to expand full-fibre access to 1.5 million additional premises by the end of 2025 with a $2.4 billion equity investment over four years in the 2022-23 Federal Budget. This includes over 660,000 premises in regional Australia.
Federal Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland, said high-speed broadband is an economic and social necessity that will drive productivity improvements and global competitiveness.
“For too long, Australians stuck on the Coalition’s aging copper network have been held back by slow and unreliable broadband,” Ms Rowland said.
“The Albanese Government’s $2.4 billion investment will enable the NBN’s full potential. We’re giving Australian families and small businesses access to the world-class broadband infrastructure they deserve.
“Our investment in full-fibre NBN will see up to 90 per cent of premises in the fixed line footprint able to access world-class gigabit download speeds by 2025.”
In just six years, data use has tripled on the NBN – and that exponential growth is expected to continue as customer demands continue to grow in response to new technology.
An upgrade will be available on-demand where an eligible household orders a higher speed plan than would currently be available to them over copper.
NBN Co expects eligible premises within the selected suburbs will be able to access a full-fibre upgrade from 2024.
The remaining locations to be upgraded as part of the Government’s investment in expanding full-fibre access are expected to be announced by early 2024.
For more information on the Albanese Government’s investment, visit: minister.infrastructure.gov.au
