It’s been close to a year since NBN Co announced it would be introducing major speed upgrades across its fixed-line network. Now we’re just seven days away from their official launch, with the slated date being this Sunday, September 14.
Whether this is the first time you’re learning of the upgrades, or you’ve been following along with the latest updates, if you want to take full advantage, there are a few things you need to get sorted.
Not only do you need to know which speed tier you want for your household – your choices of new plans are 500Mbps, 750Mbps or 2,000Mbps – but you also need to have the necessary infrastructure and hardware to support it.
Still not sure what we’re talking about? Allow us to explain all…
What’s all this about upgrades?
NBN Co is going to flip the switch this coming Sunday, September 14, releasing its new wave of plan speed tiers in the process. This will see the introduction of a brand new ‘Hyperfast’ 2Gbps tier, alongside upgrades to the best NBN 100 plans and best NBN 250 plans. These will receive a 5x speed and a 3x speed boost, respectively.
Following Sunday’s activation, Australians will have greater choice when perusing the fastest NBN plans, with options of 500Mbps, 750Mbps, 1,000Mbps and 2,000Mbps.
Sounds good, what’s the catch?
No catch necessarily, but there is one strict criterion you need to satisfy to gain access to the new speed tiers, and that’s the connection type you have at your premises. More specifically, you must have either a fibre to the premises (FTTP) or hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) connection type. If you have anything else, fibre to the curb/node (FTTC/N) or fibre to the building (FTTB), then unfortunately you’re going to miss out.
The good news for FTTC/N premises, however, is that you’re likely eligible for NBN Co’s free fibre upgrade program. If you are eligible and you choose to activate it (we can’t think of many reasons why you wouldn’t), then a technician will come to your premises to install the upgraded – and necessary – equipment.
Customers with a FTTB connection – usually those in apartments – unfortunately have no road to the faster tiers at all. While you can’t get a high-speed NBN plan (the maximum download speed you can achieve via NBN is 100Mbps), you may be in TPG’s own dedicated fibre network footprint that can deliver up to gigabit speeds to your apartment unit, or you may find you can connect via another private network such as Opticomm or Gigacomm.
Opticomm and Gigacomm internet plans are both set to, or have already received, similar speed boosts to up to 2,000Mbps. You’ll need to check with your preferred provider if you can access them.
I have the right connection type, anything else?
Potentially, yes. Having the right connection type at home is only one part of the high-speed NBN plan puzzle. While the installed equipment will bring faster speeds into your home, you’ll also need to make sure you have a router that’s capable of delivering the speeds you’re paying for to your devices.
If you’ve been using the same router for the last few years – perhaps it was one supplied by your current internet provider – then there’s a good chance it’s now a little outdated and won’t be primed for the faster speeds that are coming our way.
As you’ll find out in our in-depth guide relating to the ideal routers for the NBN upgrades, you want to look out for one that, at the very least, supports Wi-Fi 6 technology. However, given you’re likely to have more connected devices at home than you realise – think smart lights, appliances, speakers, etc – then we’d recommend looking for a router that supports Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7.
Your chosen internet service provider (ISP) should offer a compatible router when signing up for a new plan, but in our experience, this isn’t always the case. By this, we mean they supply a Wi-Fi 6 router only. As mentioned, this is ultimately ok, but a 6E or 7 compliant router is going to offer greater future support.
Can I get an upgraded plan today?
Yes, you can! We’re eagerly awaiting the full list of plans and prices from the myriad ISPs to go live, but a few providers jumped the gun very early, launching 500Mbps and 750Mbps plans a few months ago. Multi-gigabit NBN 2000 plans are still nowhere to be found, but this is because they actually require NBN to flip the switch.
Exetel is a standout option in our opinion with its NBN 500 plan. The telco has dropped all other plan options, so unless you have the necessary infrastructure at your home, you can’t sign up with the provider.
Spintel is the only provider to offer a 750Mbps plan right now – we, of course, expect this to change in a week’s time – making it your only option for this particular speed.
If these upgraded speeds sound like something you want to be a part of, but you don’t have the necessary equipment, our recommendation, right now, would ultimately be to hold off one more week and see what other providers are charging for their plans.
You can, of course, choose to sign up with the aforementioned Exetel or Spintel plans to get your technician visit booked in as early as possible. If you’re happy to wait, though, you could well find that cheaper plans will become available.