• Co-investment agreement between NBN Co and Victorian Government will provide around 40,000 eligible homes and businesses on Fibre to the Node (FTTN) in 50 suburbs and towns across Victoria the ability to upgrade to Fibre to the Premises (FTTP)¹.
• Eligible homes and businesses¹ will be able to order plans based on nbn^® Home Fast or higher speed tiers² via their internet provider.
• The latest co-investment agreement also includes a commitment to establish an additional five nbn^® Business Fibre Zones, taking the total number of new nbn^® Business Fibre Zones delivered under the agreement to 16.

Today, NBN Co and the Victorian Government announced the second stage of a landmark co-investment agreement, which will see fibre built deeper into more parts of metropolitan and regional Victoria.

This will enable around 40,000 additional eligible homes and businesses1 that access the nbn^® network via Fibre to the Node (FTTN) in 50 suburbs and towns across Victoria to upgrade to Fibre to the Premises (FTTP).

It comes as NBN Co is on track to enable up to 8 million premises across Australia the ability to access nbn^® Home Ultrafast, which offers wholesale download speeds of close to 1 Gbps², by the end of next year.

To trigger a full fibre upgrade, eligible customers will need to place an order with a participating retailer for a plan based on an eligible wholesale speed tier. These include nbn’s three highest speed tiers: nbn^®Home Fast, which offers wholesale download speeds of up to 100 Mbps; nbn^® Home Superfast, which offers wholesale download speeds of up to 250 Mbps, or nbn^® Home Ultrafast (FTTP), which offers wholesale download speeds of close to 1 Gbps².

Premises within the suburbs and towns, which may be eligible for an upgrade can register to receive updates at nbn.com.au/fttpupgrade.

Demand for access to nbn’s higher wholesale speed tiers continues to grow among customers, as households look to simultaneously work and study from home and enjoy online entertainment, while businesses are increasingly adopting digital applications to drive growth and enhance productivity.

Under the agreement announced today, the Victorian Government will contribute to the cost of extending fibre-optic cable further into these communities. NBN Co will cover the cost of the fibre lead-in into the eligible home or business, which will be constructed when the customer orders a plan based on nbn^® Home Fast or higher.

Field works have already begun for the Fibre to the Premises upgrades in some of these areas with a view to customers being able to order a service from June 2023.

Suburbs and towns identified for FTTN to FTTP upgrades

The Victorian Government and NBN Co are making FTTN to FTTP investments in the following suburbs*

Alfredton, Bairnsdale, Balnarring, Balnarring Beach, Bandiana, Beaconsfield, Belmont, Churchill, Corio, Craigieburn, Doreen, Drumcondra, East Geelong, Elmore, Geelong, Geelong West, Grovedale, Highton, Horsham, Kangaroo Flat, Kennington, Kyneton, Leongatha, Marshall, Mernda, Merricks Beach, Mirboo North, Mornington, Mount Martha, Myrtleford, Nagambie, Nhill, North Geelong, Ocean Grove, Officer, Ouyen, Pakenham, Rippleside, Rochester, Roxburgh Park, Sale, Seymour, Somerville, Tatura, Traralgon, Wangaratta, Warragul, Warrnambool, Wendouree, Wodonga

* Some areas will be upgraded in full, while the Victorian Government has selected other areas for co-investment upgrades to complement proposed upgrades as part of the nbn Corporate Plan 2021-24.

Business Fibre Zones

A further five new nbn^® Business Fibre Zones will also be created in in Loch Sport, Alfredton, Buninyong, Rockbank/Mt Cottrell and Tarneit. These zones are designed to help businesses grow, create jobs and enhance productivity.

Eligible businesses¹ within nbn^® Business Fibre Zones that order an Enterprise Ethernet service will receive their chosen speed tier and service based on CBD-equivalent wholesale pricing, regardless of location.

In these zones, retail internet providers can offer business-grade fibre connections at no upfront build cost from NBN Co. Plus, if the retail provider signs up for a three-year Enterprise Ethernet plan, there’s no up-front connection cost charged by nbn to the internet provider for standard installations³.

The Business Fibre Zones will be activated and available for order from 2 April 2022.

nbn Business Fibre Zones	Stage Two (new): Loch Sport, Alfredton, Buninyong, Rockbank/Mt Cottrell, Tarneit Stage One (announced on August 26, 2021): Benalla, Colac, Cranbourne South, Dromana, Hamilton, Lara, Pakenham North, Pakenham South, Portland, Warragul and Wonthaggi-Inverloch

Will Irving, NBN Co Chief Strategy Officer said:

“Today’s announcement will build fibre deeper into suburban and regional Victoria, providing more homes and businesses with the opportunity to access higher speed broadband.  

“Residential demand for faster broadband speeds continues to grow as more people work and study from home and enjoy online entertainment. Being able to access our highest residential wholesale speed tiers² across multiple devices is becoming increasingly important for businesses and households.   

"Our Business Fibre Initiative helps to level the playing field for businesses of all sizes and in more locations by bringing city business fibre pricing to many new business areas and reducing the significant variation that has existed in the cost of business broadband services in regional and rural areas compared to metropolitan areas.

“Through this co-investment with the Victorian Government we have now created a total of 16 new Business Fibre Zones, providing local businesses with the opportunity to affordably adopt enterprise grade broadband, which can help to enhance productivity, create jobs and drive growth.”

Notes to editor:

¹ Eligibility disclaimer:

• For residential [Fibre Upgrades] premises: Conditions, eligibility criteria and costs will apply – please speak with your preferred provider. Eligibility criteria includes, among other things, being designated by nbn as a simple premises (e.g. standalone premises or Single Dwelling Unit (SDU)) and placing an order for an nbn^® powered plan based on an eligible wholesale speed tier. Additional costs may apply to providers, who may choose to pass this charge onto their customers.
• For business premises nbn business: nbn™ Enterprise Ethernet is only available in the nbn™ Fixed Line network footprint and at limited premises served by the nbn™ Fixed Wireless and Satellite networks. Costs may apply; customers should contact their preferred service provider to ask about availability and any fees and charges that may be applicable.

² Speed and experience disclaimer:

• For residential services: Regardless of the retail service you purchase, the actual wholesale speeds delivered by nbn^® Home Ultrafast will be less than 1Gbps due to equipment and network limitations. In addition, the HFC Home Ultrafast bandwidth profile downstream service provided to retail providers is a ranged profile with a maximum sustained information rate of 750Mbps. Reference to speeds are not end user speeds; they are wholesale layer 2 peak information rate bandwidth provided to retail providers. An end customer’s experience, including the speeds actually achieved over the nbn^® broadband access network, depends on the nbn™ access network technology and configuration over which services are delivered to their premises, whether they are using the internet during the busy period, and some factors outside of NBN Co’s control (like their equipment quality, software, chosen broadband plan, signal reception, or how their provider designs its network).
• For business nbn Enterprise Ethernet: Regardless of the retail service you purchase, the actual wholesale speeds delivered by the business nbn^® Enterprise Ethernet product will be no more than 952Mbps due to equipment and network limitations. An end customer’s experience, including the speeds actually achieved over the nbn™ network, depends on some factors outside our control (like their equipment quality, software, and how their retail service provider designs its network). If your service provider has not selected the 'Class of Service – High', the speeds you experience may be affected by contention on the nbn^® network, particularly in busy periods.

³ nbn is a wholesaler and does not control costs charged by service providers. Customers should contact their preferred provider to ask about availability and any fees and charges from their provider that may be applicable. These pricing offers are not available for most premises in the nbn™ Fixed Wireless or Satellite footprints or for most premises which have complex connections – further costs are likely to apply to these premises.