What to expect in an emergency

Where the nbn network is affected, nbn will prioritise reconnecting essential services, such as hospitals, fire, police and emergency services. Community infrastructure will also be included with traffic management, sewerage, power and water utilities a high priority. We will also work to prioritise the reconnection of business services essential to community recovery, such as banks, petrol stations and supermarkets.

An emergency may trigger a power outage. If you require a safety critical device such as a medical alarm, fire alarm or lift emergency phone to work during a power outage, nbn recommends you speak to the supplier of that device about the best solution for ongoing service continuity.

Prepare an emergency kit

We recommend that you put together an emergency kit which includes equipment (like a charged mobile phone) that can be used in the event that there is a power outage, or if your connection to the nbn network is disrupted.

Equipment connected over the nbn network will not work during a power blackout. Electronic equipment connected to the nbn network needs its own separate battery backup to work in a power outage. Examples of devices requiring separate battery backup include your modem, cordless phone, or gateway/Wi-Fi router. This is not provided by nbn.

A number of factors influence the resiliency of the nbn network to continue to provide uninterrupted services during a power outage. Even with network power resiliency and in-premises battery backup, power outages may last longer than the battery life. Therefore, we recommend you are always prepared to be without landline phone and internet services for some time.

nbn network outages

Unplanned or unexpected outages to your nbn network connection can occur for many reasons, such as severe storms, cyclones, bushfires, car accidents, or trees or branches falling onto power lines.

nbn understands the inconvenience unplanned outages can cause to users. This is why we have an emergency response team dedicated to preparing for, and responding to, the recovery of the network in emergencies.

We have worked with local authorities and emergency services to identify high risk areas, and buildings of importance like hospitals. We are constantly working to make sure our network is as resilient as possible. With this in mind, we are consistently undertaking work such as vegetation clearance around sites in high risk bushfire and cyclone areas, checking seals on cabinets in flood prone areas, and the stocking of operational vehicles with the agreed levels of network spares and the required tools and equipment. This will ensure we are ready to respond should an emergency arise.

Where possible, nbn will deploy temporary network infrastructure into areas where extended outage durations are anticipated. This infrastructure is designed to provide temporary backup to support emergency services and the community. Its allocation will be based on the network infrastructure available and be on a best efforts basis.