Today, NBN Co and the NSW Government announced a landmark co-investment deal that will deliver enhanced nbn^® broadband services to over 11,000 homes and businesses across 46 locations in regional NSW.  

The partnership will see the construction or co-location of 56 new fixed wireless towers that will utilise 5G millimetre wave technology, to help deliver faster speeds across the network, including in the evening. 

In recent years, NBN Co has focused on delivering co-investment opportunities with all levels of government across the nation to further enhance the capabilities of the network. This latest investment announcement follows previously announced projects with the NSW Government, including along the Cobar Corridor.  

Gavin Williams, nbn Chief Development Officer, Regional and Remote, says: 

“We are excited to be working with the NSW Government to enable enhanced nbn services to over 11,000 homes and businesses across regional NSW.  

“As a result of the exponential growth in data usage seen over the past decade, we are facing a step-change in demand for broadband in rural and regional areas, and we must continue to evolve the network to meet that demand now, and into the future. 

“From working and learning from home, accessing remote healthcare or enjoying online entertainment, people in the bush are just as excited about the possibilities presented by access to fast and secure broadband as those in metro areas. 

“Co-investment opportunities such as this one with the NSW Government are one of the many ways, we continue to strengthen Australia’s digital backbone and enhance connectivity in our regions.”

Last week NBN Co announced the trial of a new Sky Muster® Plus plan that it hopes will allow it to provide faster speeds and even more unmetered data to satellite customers from late 2023. Features of any final product are subject to change. 

Earlier this month, the company also announced that an additional one million households and businesses – up to 58 per cent in regional areas – would get access to faster and more reliable broadband, as the rollout of full fibre to the premises continues across the country. 

These announcements follow last year’s announcement from nbn and the Australian Government of an additional $750 million investment t to the nbn fixed wireless and satellite footprint to extend the reach of existing nbn Fixed Wireless coverage by at least 50 per cent, as well as enabling faster speeds.  

Additional information  

Important notes

• In March 2022 nbn announced that it plans improve nbn Fixed Wireless ‘typical wholesale busy hour speeds’ across the nbn Fixed Wireless network to achieve typical evening speeds* of at least 50Mbps (download) by the end of 2024. 
• *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 period.