NBN Co - National Broadband Network - Australia | Blog

NBN street cabinets: now made in Melbourne

Fri, 24 May 2013

If the area you live and work in is connected to fibre broadband via the National Broadband Network, you might have noticed some small cabinets on the roadside.

These are Fibre Distribution Hubs, and are like intersections where traffic branches off a main road and travels down smaller local streets to your home or business.

Fibre Distribution Hubs (or FDHs) are unpowered, street-side cabinets used to provide a connection point between the larger distribution network and the local fibre network which ultimately leads to your home.

Each one can connect between 288 and 576 homes or businesses to the network, but NBN Co is leaving spare capacity in each cabinet to allow for more connections in the future as demand grows when cities and suburbs become more densely populated. Most are coloured beige and are about 1 metre high, you might spot them on a curb, a nature strip or a path.

As the rollout of the National Broadband Network picks up pace, demand for the cabinets is increasing and Corning Cable Systems Australia, which manufactures them on behalf of NBN Co today opened a new manufacturing facility in Melbourne.

The new facility, at Corning's Clayton site, is part of a $40 million local investment by Corning in additional production capacity.

Faster broadband bears fruit for farmer

Wed, 22 May 2013

Growing fruit might seem like a simple proposition, but Han Shoing Siah expects connecting to the National Broadband Network will lead to significant benefits for his tropical fruit business.

Siah was quick to sign up for fixed wireless broadband when it went on offer and in fact was the first person in the Northern Territory to receive the service, which was connected in early April.

His family business, Tropical Primary Products, grows mangoes, jackfruit, durian and pomelo at their farm about 60km out of Darwin, and Siah expects several benefits from the video conferencing that the faster services over the NBN will allow.

Tell us your NBN stories

Wed, 22 May 2013

More and more Australians are connecting to the National Broadband Network and we want to hear from NBN users about how it's changing the way you live and the way you work.

Every day more people are discovering how the NBN can bring education, entertainment, work and communication to the home, along with hundreds of other uses.

At work, small businesses are connecting with customers and partners in new ways, accessing and sharing data with colleagues at other sites, and getting the most out of cloud computing.

We want to hear from you and showcase how your family or business is using services over the NBN.

So far we've found families on the NBN who ask for cooking advice on video conference from their mum for a favourite recipe, kids playing maths and English games with their school friends, and science geeks doing virtual tours of museums around the world.

Maybe we can feature your story on a Youtube video or on the NBN Co blog. Check out our Youtube channel for other families and businesses we have featured.

Brunswick, Gungahlin, Armidale, Gosford, Coffs Harbour, Aspley George Town, Townsville and Hobart, among others, are already connected, along with thousands of people in new estates dotted right across Australia.

Some people living in more remote and out-of-the-way places are also using services over the NBN Interim Satellite or Fixed Wireless services where broadband options were previously limited.

People are doing all sorts of things with the NBN. What about you?

If you want to tell us your story, send us an email at: . Make sure you tell us a bit about how you are using the NBN and don't forget to include your contact details.

How superfast broadband is enabling better home security

Tue, 21 May 2013

Security alarms aren't something most people give much thought to -- usually they're hidden in a cupboard somewhere, and the only time you have to think about them is when it's time to replace the batteries in a roof-mounted motion sensor.

However, with the rollout of the NBN, the range of home and business security options is becoming much more useful.

The combination of superfast broadband and the availability of inexpensive but advanced security hardware are allowing tech-savvy security companies to make full use of the internet to give home and business owners greater control.

High resolution internet-connected security cameras can allow real-time monitoring and surveillance of homes and businesses, with motion-sensors alerts sent to mobile phones.

Teleworking pays dividends

Wed, 15 May 2013

Stephen Jones could be described as a telework veteran.

He began working from home in 1995, and since then has teleworked for several employers and now runs his own business from his home at Pretty Beach on the NSW Central Coast.

Jones, who works in the biomedicine field, began teleworking after finding that he was commuting for about four hours a day to get to and from his job in Sydney.

In the orange

Mon, 13 May 2013

So, you've been notified that construction on the NBN is happening in your area.

This means you are in the orange! That is, your area on the NBN Co rollout maps is coloured orange, indicating construction of the National Broadband Network has commenced.

But you haven't seen any activity in your street.

So what does "construction commenced" actually mean?

Sydney switches on the National Broadband Network

Wed, 8 May 2013

The National Broadband Network has been switched on in Australia's largest city.

Superfast broadband now passes 1300 premises in Blacktown in Sydney's West with another 9300 homes and businesses set to be passed over the next few months. The Sydney switch-on was marked at a ceremony at the Max Webber Library in Blacktown over the weekend which included the first live NBN-enabled children's book reading session with popular Australian children's writer, the international bestselling author Andy Griffiths.

"It's a whole new way to reach readers and stimulate young minds," said Griffiths, who read to the children and answered their questions from Melbourne over video via the NBN. "Better broadband is essential for Australia if we're to keep pace with the rest of the world."

1.3 million more homes and businesses added to NBN construction timetable

Mon, 6 May 2013

Howlong, Murrurundi, Rainbow Beach and Rollingstone; Tumby Bay, Naracoorte, Lang Lang and Tallangatta; Dunsborough, Ellenbrook - these are just a handful of the 190 cities, towns and suburbs NBN Co has added to its construction timetable.

All up, NBN Co has added 1.35 million homes and business to its rollout footprint as part of its yearly update of its three-year construction timetable. The company is also expanding coverage of the National Broadband Network in existing areas.

This means there will be 4.85 million premises where construction will have commenced or where an NBN service can be ordered by June 2016.

Why oysters are connecting to broadband

Wed, 1 May 2013

Oyster farmers have to be very careful about when they harvest the bivalves, especially after a storm.

Following a rain storm, bacteria in the water sometimes increase and could be taken up by the oysters, potentially making them unfit to eat. Until now oyster farmers have had to wait up to two weeks before they could harvest again after a good rain - meaning they miss out on orders and income.

But a project by the CSIRO to use environmental sensors linked to a broadband network aims to give the oyster farmers a better idea of when it's safe to harvest.

First local NBN fibre optic cable in Adelaide, more in WA

Tue, 30 Apr 2013

NBN Co has laid the first local fibre optic cable in metropolitan Adelaide as part of the widespread rollout of the National Broadband Network in South Australia.

And super-fast broadband is also a step closer in Western Australia after NBN Co installed the first local fibre optic cable in Mandurah.

In Adelaide, distribution fibre linking the Prospect exchange to the local area was installed on the corner of Ballville Street and Prospect Terrace.

"This fibre haul marks an important step in the rollout of the NBN in Adelaide," NBN Co spokesperson Tony Gibbs said. "The construction shows work is underway to build the network, which will provide super-fast broadband to parts of Adelaide throughout 2014."

Design and construction work has already commenced on rolling out the NBN to around 15,000 homes and businesses in Prospect. NBN Co is aiming to finish the first stages of construction in Prospect by the end of the year, and homes and businesses are expected to be able to connect to services over the NBN soon after.

Three little words

Mon, 29 Apr 2013

There are three little words that lots of Australian waiting for high speed broadband want to hear...

Ready. For. Service.

Ready for a service over the National Broadband Network that is.

And that is what the people of Toowoomba heard, more often than not, when visiting the NBN Co truck at the Heritage Royal Show recently.

Residents of Toowoomba and many of the surrounding areas are among the lucky Australians who can connect to the NBN right now.

There are both Fibre and Fixed Wireless services currently active in the region, which resulted in many excited residents jumping onboard the truck to find out more.

While keen to get a connection, many truck visitors were unsure of how to go about it.

So let's break it down.

Getting connected to the NBN is as easy as 1, 2, 3:

Check NBN Co's interactive map to see if the NBN is available in your area.
If the NBN is available in your area, simply look through the list of phone and internet service providers, and give your preferred provider a call to select the right option for you.
Your service provider will arrange a time for the NBN Co equipment to be installed and your services activated (a standard installation will be free of charge).

Home of the future comes nearer

Mon, 22 Apr 2013

The "home of the future" has long been a pipedream, but the CSIRO says it is not far from being a reality.

The science agency expects that as more homes become connected to fast and reliable broadband, smartphones and tablets and the software they use will become the control centre of the connected home - controlling the services, displaying data and even acting as sensors.

The CSIRO predicts that the home of the future will have enhanced work from home technology, more efficient use of energy and water, monitoring of health, and better educational opportunities, according to a recently released report.

It all relies on fast broadband, the CSIRO says.

Hit the read more link to see the infographic in full.

NBN fibre to go gigabit in December

Fri, 19 Apr 2013

Australia will become a Gigabit Nation before the end of the year when NBN Co releases a broadband product that delivers wholesale upload and download speeds that far exceed those available to households today.

NBN Co's wholesale customers - internet service providers - will be able to order the new product from December.

ISPs will develop retail plans based on the 1 Gigabit - or 1000 Mbps - product. These plans will be available to families and businesses nationwide with access to the fibre network.

Sprinting over superfast internet

Thu, 11 Apr 2013

Champion US sprinter Michael Johnson this morning ran a coaching session with Australia's latest running star over the superfast National Broadband Network.

Johnson, in Melbourne, joined Andrew Robinson, the first Tasmanian in 70 years to win the Stawell Gift, to run the world's first NBN-enabled athletics training session with children at South Hobart Oval.

Johnson ran through his tips for becoming a successful athlete and talked about how he developed his own career before he got the NBN-enabled coaching session underway from the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

In a demonstration of how services over the NBN can be used for coaching and teaching, the four-time Olympic goal medallist started off with some stretches for the children from Mount Carmel College. He then moved on to demonstrating the best starting position and showed why his running style worked so well.

Robinson said he was excited by how superfast broadband can help change the face of sport in Australia.

Virtual excursions bring the world to regional students

Wed, 10 Apr 2013

In my 15 years as a school teacher, I've witnessed many changes to the way we teach in the classroom.

The most profound transformation has been the emergence of digital technology and the availability of high speed, reliable broadband that has empowered PLC Armidale to expand our students' learning opportunities far beyond the four walls of the classroom.

Students now have the opportunity to learn directly from field experts like Dr Bridget Murphy of University of NSW, pictured above giving a lesson in medical pathology using broadband over the NBN.

They can also interact and collaborate with other students who could be based anywhere in Australia, or the world, all without setting foot outside of our school campus in regional NSW.

Canberra small businesses get up to speed on the NBN

Mon, 8 Apr 2013

Recently NBN Co had the pleasure of meeting with approximately 120 local entrepreneurs and small business owners at the Canberra NBN Business Forum.

The forum was hosted by ACT Government and Canberra Business Council in partnership Department of Broadband Communications and Digital Economy (DBCDE), and aimed to help local business people understand how their businesses can benefit from the NBN.

It included presentations from Darren Alexander, a small business owner and broadband champion, and Michael McGoogan, owner of Canberra business Uberglobal, on how small businesses can use services delivered over the NBN for their operations and potentially benefit from it.

It was inspiring hearing firsthand from Darren about how his NBN fibre connection has benefitted his design company Autech, and specifically how the ability to videoconference his clients in HD across Australia and in Canada, Asia, Europe and the US has revolutionised his Launceston-based business, helping it to grow, all the while saving him time and money in the process.

Darren explained that having access to new online platforms, such as HD video, is particularly important for Autech as it specialises in colour visualisation software and electronic colour tools for the paint, building, product manufacturing and retail industries. The high download and upload speeds offered over the NBN means they can share images easily and quickly as if they are in the same room as the client - a far cry from the click and wait or the days of a courier.

Do kids get more out of the internet than their parents?

Fri, 5 Apr 2013

After following the paw prints around the animal walk, a spin on the Ferris wheel and stocking up on show bags at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, families from across the country jumped onboard the NBN Co truck to learn all about the National Broadband Network and to get their very own pop-up truck.

We discovered that more often than not it is the children of the family who dominate the internet usage at home (not to mention using their skills to swiftly navigate the web for the latest Easter Show highlights).

This may have something to do with the fact that children of the 21^st century are part of the digital generation, AKA digital natives - IT savvy kids who have never known life without a computer or the internet.

NBN Co completes Fixed Wireless network in Darwin

Thu, 4 Apr 2013

Residents and businesses in parts of Darwin's outskirts will now have access to fast broadband after NBN Co announced it has finished the rollout of fixed wireless in the Northern Territory.

Fixed wireless is now live in parts of Berry Springs, Darwin River, Fly Creek North, Lambells Lagoon, Livingstone South, Noonamah East, Southport and Wagait Beach.

NBN's fixed wireless network is designed to offer wholesale speeds of up to 12Mbps for downloads and 1Mbps for uploads to service providers, with plans to increase these speeds to 25Mbps for downloads and 5Mbps for uploads from June 2013.

Robot takes museum to students

Thu, 4 Apr 2013

Jonathan Roberts came up with the idea for a museum robot during a chance encounter with a curator in the lunch queue at a museum cafeteria.

The pair started talking about how museums could make use of robotics, "and by the end of the lunch queue I'd come up with a concept", says Roberts, Research Director of the Autonomous Systems Laboratory in CSIRO's ICT Centre.

The result of that conversation in May 2010 is the museum robot launched this monthat the National Museum of Australia.

The robot allows people all over Australia to experience a visit to the museum through images and sounds sent from the robot to their homes or schools via high speed broadband connections such as those the National Broadband Network provides the infrastructure for.

Students can choose what they look at and ask questions of the educator - or guide - who moves around the museum with the robot.

At the launch students from Townsville in North Queensland and Kiama south of Sydney were given a tour of the museum. Among other exhibits they were shown Pharlap's heart, and in a demonstration of the robot's capabilities, the tour seamlessly switched to Melbourne Museum so the students could also see the famous racehorse's skin and ask questions of the museum's Pharlap expert and curator Michael Reason.

The need for speed...

Wed, 3 Apr 2013

The sun-kissed concrete rumbles. Eyes wide with excitement turn towards the sky. The NBN Co Discovery Truck shudders as an F-22 Raptor roars overhead.

It's not easy to make a 32 tonne truck shudder, but it did at the recent 2013 Australian International Airshow at Avalon in Victoria.