Work has started on the upgrades to the nbn Fixed Wireless network in Maclean Lookout and Woombah, which will benefit households and businesses across Australia, including in the Clarence Valley area, providing access to faster speeds* and extending the coverage of the nbn Fixed Wireless network.
The $750 million investment in the nbn Fixed Wireless and nbn Sky Muster satellite network – $480 million from the Australian Government and $270 million from nbn – was announced earlier this year and is on track to be completed by December 2024.
When complete, the investment will expand the reach of the existing nbn Fixed Wireless footprint by at least 50%, as well as enabling two new high speed fixed wireless plans – up to 100mbps and 250mbps*.
The additional capacity and reach available on the upgraded network will also enable up to 120,000 existing Sky Muster satellite only premises to access nbn Fixed Wireless for the first time.
Work has begun to enable the upgrades, including nbn introducing is new technology and replacing some hardware on our fixed wireless towers.
nbn will use 4G technology and software enhancements as well as introducing 5G mm Wave technology to help deliver more coverage, minimise congestion and offer access to higher speed tiers on the nbn Fixed Wireless network**. nbn will be among the first in the world to deploy 5G mmWave technology at this scale for a dedicated fixed wireless network.
The tower upgrades will mean some planned outages that may impact homes and businesses and their ability to use their nbn service while the work is underway. The upgrade work is currently underway on towers in Maclean Lookout and Woombah.
Upgrade works on a tower will usually require a total of three to four planned service outages over one to two weeks. After the tower works are completed, many customers should experience an improvement in speeds on their nbn Fixed Wireless service**.
Impacted homes and businesses should be notified of any outages via their retail service provider. Information will also be available via the nbn website: www.nbnco.com.au/support/network-status.
The tower works will not impact nbn fixed line or nbn Sky Muster satellite services.
Tom O’Dea, head of nbn Local NSW, said: “There is increasing demand for faster internet from homes and business across Australia and we are continuing to invest in the nbn network to stay ahead of demand.
“We are excited to have begun work upgrading the nbn Fixed Wireless network in Clarence Valley, which will be a game changer for up to a million households and businesses across Australia*.
“These tower works are critical to the delivery of our program but will mean some planned outages that may affect homes and businesses and their ability to use their nbn service while the work is underway. After the tower works are completed, we expect that many customers should experience an improvement in speeds on their nbn Fixed Wireless service**.
“We are asking the community to prepare for these outages and have back up connectivity if they need it.
“We encourage people to check the network status page (www.nbnco.com.au/support/network-status) on the nbn website and watch out for communication from their retail service provider about how the planned outages may impact them.”
To minimise disruption, nbn will aim to perform tower upgrade works between 10pm and 10am on weeknights, or where necessary between 6am and 6pm on weekends.
In addition to tower upgrades homes and businesses may also need to update their nbn devices at their premises to get the benefits of the upgrades. nbn will contact those impacted directly. Not all devices will need to be replaced.
nbn is undergoing final planning for the full roll out of the program and expects that from mid-2023 they will start to move the eligible 120,000 premises currently in the nbn satellite footprint to the expanded nbn Fixed Wireless footprint and offer enhanced busy hour speeds and higher-speed tiers.
For more information and to register for updates, customers are encouraged to visit our blog for an update on nbn’s Fixed Wireless and Satellite Upgrade Program: https://www.nbnco.com.au/blog/the-nbn-project/nbnsfixed-wireless-and-satellite-upgrade-program
Disclaimers
*nbn is a wholesaler and end customers should contact their preferred service provider to ask about availability. Any new speed tiers or changes to Fixed Wireless products is subject to consultation with industry which may alter the design, contractual terms, product specifications and/or go-to-market approach
**Your experience, including the speeds actually achieved over the nbn® network, depends on the nbn® access network technology and configuration over which services are delivered to your premises, whether you are using the internet during the busy period, and some factors outside nbn’s control (like your equipment quality, software, broadband plan, signal reception, and (with the exception of Sky Muster Plus™) how your service provider designs its network).
Speeds may also be impacted by the number of concurrent users on the nbn® Fixed Wireless network, including during busy periods.