The 40 per cent additional capacity offer was introduced by NBN Co in March 2020 to support the nation’s additional data demands as more people relied on their home broadband connections for work, study and entertainment.

Following feedback from internet retailers, NBN Co will extend the 40 per cent additional capacity offer (where available, depending on access technology) at no additional cost to participating retailers (based on the February 2020 baseline) until 30 November for bundled discount plans.

NBN Co is also extending its offer to increase the fair use thresholds for its standard Sky™ Muster satellite service to 90GB* of wholesale download data on average per user across a rolling 4 weekly period, depending on the services the retailer has ordered from nbn, until 30 November 2020.

This offer, which came into effect at the end of March, adds 45GB* to the applicable fair use rolling 4 weekly threshold for each standard Sky Muster™ service at no additional cost to internet retailers.

NBN Co recently extended its Education Assistance offer for unconnected low-income households with online schooling needs until 15 January 2021. It also broadened the ‘Illuminate’ (First Timers’) wholesale discounts for premises that have not yet connected to the nbn™ network and have passed 18 months since their premises was able to connect, or have disconnected after having an active service and have been inactive for more than six months.

Over the past nine months, NBN Co has invested heavily in supporting the industry through various measures. These include forgoing revenue, increased data allocations, capital investment in network capacity augmentation and the provision of additional capacity inclusions.

Further, as previously announced, NBN Co is offering a $150 million financial relief and assistance package to help internet providers support residential and business customers facing financial hardship as a result of the pandemic.

Low-income support package

As part of the package for low-income households, NBN Co has extended its Education Assistance offer until 15 January 2021. The extension of the Education Assistance offer means unconnected low-income households with online schooling needs have access to this support for a further three and a half months. Under the offer, NBN Co waived its $37 monthly wholesale charge for internet providers for many services on the 25/5 Mbps speed tier.

NBN Co is also broadening the Illuminate offer to allow retailers to migrate existing Education Assistance customers onto the Illuminate offer for 12 months at the expiry of the COVID Education Assistance package on 15 January 2021.

Illuminate provides retailers a 50 per cent discount on the effective wholesale charge of most nbn speed tiers for premises that have not connected to the network and have passed 18 months since their premises was able to connect, or have disconnected after having an active service and have been inactive for more than six months.

Under the Illuminate offer, internet providers will have access to a 50 per cent discount on the wholesale price of most fixed line and fixed wireless bundles for a period of 12 months.  

NBN Co Chief Customer Officer, Brad Whitcomb, said:

*nbn intends to engage with retail service providers and review demand on the nbn™ Sky Muster™ service following the data increase on a monthly basis and adjust the appropriate level of allocation if required.

Answering questions on how to connect or improve an existing service, as well as explaining the benefits of an nbn™ connection, our ambassadors perform an important role – especially for those most vulnerable in the community.

Our ambassadors go virtual

With face-to-face activities, like these, having been paused due to the COVID-19 crisis, nbn™ Community and Brand Ambassadors are now practicing what they’re used to preaching by taking their valued information sessions online.

From Monday 18 May, two key programs will be on offer – online – to members of the public:

nbn 1:1 session

Available for individuals seeking a one-to-one conversation, one of our friendly nbn™ Brand Ambassadors will deliver the 15-minute session via video conference (or audio only if preferred). This session is ideal for anyone seeking support or education on connecting to the nbn™ access network, optimising their experience, or info on other nbn™ programs and announcements.

nbn Community session

Available to community groups on request, one of our friendly nbn™ Community Ambassadors will deliver a tailored session via video conference (or audio only if preferred). This session is ideal for groups seeking information and education on the nbn™ access network, scams, optimising their experience, and info on nbn™ programs and announcements.

Scammers are using the reliance on connectivity during the COVID-19 pandemic to mislead people into thinking their service over the nbn™ broadband access network will be disconnected if they don’t provide a ‘technician’ with online access to their computer.

“With scammers increasing their efforts to use COVID-19 to steal people’s personal or financial details, we are starting to see the emergence of nbn related COVID-19 scams, so we are working with agencies like Scamwatch to continue to monitor the situation and alert the community,” says Darren.  

“Working remotely means you are likely to be in a different environment than your usual office location, so it is important to not get complacent when it comes to the security of work devices and documents.

“It is important to not click on the links or attachments in suspicious emails and never respond to unsolicited messages. This is even more important for all of us that are working from home, as scammers are on the hunt for ways to get access and disrupt home and corporate networks.”

With connectivity more important than ever, we are ensuring small and medium businesses stay connected by providing financial support to internet providers, who can help customers struggling to pay some or all of their monthly bills.

Due to increased demand of essential and emergency services, including telehealth providers, we are offering internet providers enhanced service levels, prioritised connections and fault resolution, and speed boosts for telehealth providers.

Our package of business assistance to internet providers includes:

• Providing financial support on wholesale monthly charges for small and medium businesses facing financial hardship due to COVID-19 and unable to pay some or all of their monthly bill for their nbn™ powered plan. This will help service providers to maintain their connection during this period.
  
  
• Waiving wholesale monthly charges for new connections of specified wholesale business-grade services before 31 December 2020, with charges waived to 31 January 2021. This will help businesses to re-establish themselves when the pandemic passes.
  
  
• Providing enhanced fault rectification service levels as well as prioritised connections and fault resolution for essential and emergency service organisations, including telehealth providers, via case management through nbn’s Business Operations Centre, to assist with service continuity.
  
  
• Offering a speed upgrade for telehealth providers on plans based on the 12/1Mbps or 25/5Mbps wholesale speed tiers to plans based on the 50/20Mbps, 25/5Mbps or Fixed Wireless Plus wholesale speed tiers where available at no additional wholesale charge. This will help to ensure telehealth providers have the capability to manage anticipated increase in video and audio telehealth consultations during this period.
  
  As an essential service organisation, they will also be eligible to receive enhanced fault rectification service levels; prioritised connections and fault resolution via case management through nbn’s Business Operations Centre at no additional charge. If the telehealth provider is a small or medium business, they may also be eligible for other assistance available to small and medium businesses.
  
  
• NBN Co will also continue to engage with industry to develop useful information and resources to assist small and medium businesses maintain business continuity while working from home, including through its support of the Australian Business Continuity Portal recently launched by the Australian Information Industry Association.

NBN Co exists to help Australian households and businesses make the most of the benefits of high-speed broadband. Our commitment, as the team behind the nbn™ access network, is to ensure we can support Australia through this time of crisis – so that when it is over, we all emerge in a position of strength and resilience.

We have been delighted in the response from internet providers to sign-up to pass on our relief measures to business customers. To understand what is being offered and the options available to them, I recommend that businesses check with their internet provider, bearing in mind that they are currently experiencing high call volumes.

How will the measures be implemented?

The relief measures are only available after the internet provider signs up to the nbn™ access network to the offer. Participating internet providers will implement these wholesale offers at their own discretion after identifying eligible business customers in need of the support.

For how long will the measures be available?

The relief measures will be available for six months from April 2020, with the exception of our offer for new connections of specified wholesale business-grade services. When ordered by 31 December 2020, these wholesale charges will be waived for retailers until 31 January 2021.

What if there’s more than $50 million in demand for the waived charges for small and medium businesses?

Based on available customer data, we have estimated approximately $50 million will be required to support small and medium businesses with these measures. The offer is not capped and is available to all small and medium businesses identified by their internet provider as unable to pay some, or all, of their monthly bill as a result of financial hardship caused by COVID-19.

What is considered an essential, emergency or telehealth premises?

Phone and internet providers will use our following definitions to identify these premises:

Essential Services

• Defence force functions and prison systems
• Personal emergency services staffed 24 hours a day, such as Lifeline, State Emergency Services, Crisis Line and Poisons Information Line
• Healthcare services including public health services, telehealth premises services and other medical supply services. For example, for production, supply or distribution of pharmaceutical products
• Food suppliers, such as supermarkets and convenience stores
• Education, such as schools, universities and TAFEs
• Telecommunications services, including those providing infrastructure, voice and internet services
• Key public utilities, such as energy, power, fuel, water, sanitation, waste removal and welfare
• Financial institution’s services, including banks and credit unions
• Public transport, including those transporting people and freight
  
  

Emergency Services

• Ambulance services
• Fire-fighting services
• Police or law enforcement services

Telehealth Premises

A registered business premises used by an appropriately qualified service provider to offer any of the following telehealth medical consulting services, using voice or internet services over the nbn™ broadband access network:

• General Practitioner services
• Medical specialist services
• Nurse practitioner services
• Mental health treatment
• Chronic disease management
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health assessments
• Eating disorders treatment
• Pregnancy support counselling
• Resident treatment in aged care facilities 
• Disability services

40 per cent additional capacity offer

Launched in March, the 40 per cent additional capacity offer was for three months through to May but will now extend by another two billing periods through to July 2020.

The offer gives internet providers pricing relief for up to 40 per cent more Connectivity Virtual Circuit (CVC) capacity, where available and required, to respond to increased COVID-19 related user demand.

Sky Muster™ download data limits offer

nbn is also extending its offer to increase download data limits for its standard Sky Muster™ service to 90GB* of data on average for another two months. This offer, which came into effect at the end of March, provides an additional 45GB* for each standard Sky Muster™ service at no additional cost to internet providers.

“Whether it’s through this additional up to 40 per cent capacity available to internet retailers at no extra cost, our support for Sky Muster™ customers, or the $150 million of financial relief and assistance we recently announced to help keep low-income households and small and medium businesses facing hardship stay connected, nbn is here to support internet providers and Australians through this pandemic,” says Brad.

The offer to increase data limits for standard Sky Muster™ services will, in some cases, effectively double the average monthly download limits on retail plans offered to many standard Sky Muster™ customers. However, it will be left to internet providers to decide how they implement this for their customer base.

The latest from the Australian Broadband Data Demand report

* nbn intends to engage with retail service providers and review demand on the nbn™ Sky Muster™ service following the data increase on a monthly basis and adjust the appropriate level of allocation if required.

• These metrics represent the upstream/downstream throughput peak each week, across the following three distinct periods:
o Business hours - Monday to Friday 8am to 4:59pm
o Early evening hours - Monday to Sunday 5pm to 7:59pm
o Evening busy hours - Monday to Sunday 8pm to 11:59pm

• For Business Hours, the peak is determined by taking the highest downstream throughput for our TC-4 service from the busiest 15 minute increment for downstream throughput, and from the busiest 30 minute increment for upstream, between Monday to Friday. The Early Evening Hours and Busy Evening Hours figures are recorded using the same methodology, but over a seven day period.

• TC-4 is nbn’s standard wholesale broadband service that is designed primarily for general internet and standard data services across all access technologies.

• NBN Co considers the throughput peak metric for our TC-4 service as the most appropriate measure for growth in data flowing through the network as it shows when network use is at its highest in each defined period in a week for our wholesale access service most used for residential broadband services.

• This graph shows TC-4 usage (measured in terabits per second for both upstream and downstream) over a 24 hour period (using Australian Eastern Standard/Daylight time on the dates shown in the key). It compares the results from those two dates against a corresponding 24 hour period from nbn’s pre-COVID-19 baseline on 28 February 2020 (the last week of February). Each marker on the x axis represents an hour period in the day. The y axis shows, for each of the 60 minute periods in that 24 hour period:
o The downstream throughput measure calculated by recording the highest downstream throughput for our TC-4 service from the busiest 15 minute increment in that 60 minute period.
o The upstream throughput measure calculated by recording the highest upstream throughput for our TC-4 service from the busiest 30 minute increment in that 60 minute period.

• The terabits per second (Tbps) value is rounded to one decimal place. The percentage increase is rounded to the nearest whole number.  

“We are therefore increasing the upload capacity in order to address this as well as looking at further enhancements to address future demand.”

Compared to the pre-COVID-19 baseline, peak upload throughput on the main nbn wholesale service in the evening busy hours for the week beginning Monday 6 April increased by 38 per cent to 1.06Tbps, while peak upload throughput in the early evening hours increased 54 per cent to 1.05Tbps.

“Upload performance is critical for two-way video communication and for people trying to run their business from home. So if your business relies on faster upload speeds, we encourage you to talk to your internet provider to ensure you are getting the business-grade features – like priority data and enhanced service levels – to support your business needs,” says Brad.

Wednesday 8 April was also the busiest day with week-high peaks recorded across all three time categories: the daytime business hours, early evening hours and busy evening hours. These peaks coincided with an update to the popular video game Call of Duty.

Compared to the pre-COVID-19 baseline, from Monday 6 April to Sunday 12 April:

• the highest weekly download throughput was 13.8Tbps, recorded on Wednesday 8 April in the evening busy hours, an increase of 25 per cent
• the peak download throughput recorded in the early evening hours was 13.3Tbps, an increase of 36 per cent
• the peak download throughput recorded during daytime business hours was 11.6Tbps, an increase of 49 per cent

That daytime peak of 11.6Tbps on Wednesday 8 April was the first time that download throughput in the daytime business hours surpassed the pre-COVID-19 baseline evening peak of 11Tbps.

• These metrics represent the upstream/downstream throughput peak each week, across the following three distinct periods:
  • Business hours – Monday to Friday 8am to 4:59pm
  • Early evening hours – Monday to Sunday 5pm to 7:59pm
  • Evening busy hours – Monday to Sunday 8pm to 11:59pm
    
• For Business Hours, the peak is determined by taking the highest downstream throughput for our TC-4 service from the busiest 15 minute increment for downstream throughput, and from the busiest 30 minute increment for upstream, between Monday to Friday. The Early Evening Hours and Busy Evening Hours figures are recorded using the same methodology, but over a seven day period.
  
• TC-4 is nbn’s standard wholesale broadband service that is designed primarily for general internet and standard data services across all access technologies.
  
• NBN Co considers the throughput peak metric for our TC-4 service as the most appropriate measure for growth in data flowing through the network as it shows when network use is at its highest in each defined period in a week for our wholesale access service most used for residential broadband services.
  
• This graph shows TC-4 usage (measured in terabits per second for both upstream and downstream) over a 24 hour period (using Australian Eastern Standard/Daylight time on the dates shown in the key). It compares the results from those two dates against a corresponding 24 hour period from nbn’s pre-COVID-19 baseline on 28 February 2020 (the last week of February). Each marker on the x axis represents an hour period in the day. The y axis shows, for each of the 60 minute periods in that 24 hour period:
  • The downstream throughput measure calculated by recording the highest downstream throughput for our TC-4 service from the busiest 15 minute increment in that 60 minute period. 
  • The upstream throughput measure calculated by recording the highest upstream throughput for our TC-4 service from the busiest 30 minute increment in that 60 minute period.
    
• The terabits per second (Tbps) value is rounded to one decimal place. The percentage increase is rounded to the nearest whole number. 

Developed in consultation with more than 50 internet providers, government, and the consumer group Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), the fund is split as below:

• approximately $50 million will go towards helping internet providers to support low-income households with school-aged children who do not currently have an active nbn connection at home;
• $50 million towards the total support package for small and medium-sized businesses;
• and $50 million towards relief measures for residential financial hardship.

In addition:

Helping low-income families

To help unconnected low-income families with school children get connected, nbn will waive its $37 monthly wholesale charge for internet providers for many services on the 25/5 Mbps speed tier between April and September.

This is intended to enable internet providers to create more affordable offers to connect these families as Term Two of school starts across the nation.

“We want to do what we can to ensure all school children have access to the internet during this period,” says Stephen.

To ensure the initiative reaches those most in need, nbn is working with the Department of Education and schools in each state and territory.

Helping essential and emergency services

nbn is also introducing a range of measures to build resilience for essential and emergency services, and telehealth providers as online demand for these services grows.

To help ensure service continuity, nbn will offer internet providers enhanced service levels, and prioritised connections and fault resolutions for these customers via case management through nbn’s Business Operations Centre.

To further support the expected increase in telehealth activity, internet providers will be offered support to grant health providers on basic or standard nbn services with upgrades to eligible higher speed tiers at no additional charge. 
 

Helping small and medium-sized businesses

nbn will provide financial support to internet providers for new connections of specified business-grade services, helping businesses to re-establish themselves when the pandemic passes.

“This package also aims to give small and medium businesses the resilience they need to stay connected and emerge in a position to grow again in the future and provide relief measures to help households and small and medium businesses who are facing financial hardship,” says Stephen.

CEO of ACCAN, Teresa Corbin, welcomed the announcement as an important step towards ensuring no Australian is left offline during the challenging months to come.

“The internet is an essential service for work, study, and accessing government and telehealth services,” says Teresa. “nbn is to be applauded for laying the groundwork to keep struggling families and households connected during this difficult time. We hope to see the nation’s retail service providers build on these foundations to deliver financial relief to those in need.”  

nbn's COVID-19 relief and assistance package will be made available to retailers in accordance with applicable terms and conditions from April to 30 September, with retailers to determine when and what offers they develop for their customers.

“Helping households get connected and supporting Australian homes and businesses stay connected is a priority for nbn. We are confident these funding relief and assistance measures will make a difference and help internet providers support their customers,” says Stephen.

Many countries around the world will be facing this crisis without the secure, resilient and fast broadband that nbn brings to homes, businesses and schools.

Indeed, had this crisis struck ten years ago, when the vast majority of the nation was stuck on a blend of old ADSL and dial-up connections, we as a nation would have been in an unthinkable position right now.

Instead, thanks in large part to the foresight of past and present governments, we have an nbn™ network that is more than 95 per cent complete; a network that has helped lift the digital capability of the nation and given millions of homes and businesses access to fast and reliable broadband services.

It’s this access to speed and capacity on the nbn™ access network that is enabling families today to continue functioning in these surreal times. It’s allowing mums and dads to work online, from home, while their children stream the latest lesson from school, or relax with a movie when the time comes to unwind.

By the measures that matter most when it comes to bringing broadband to people – speed, ubiquity, and price – the nbn™ access network has risen to the challenge and I believe surpassed it.

But now we rise to meet a new challenge, as indeed does the whole nation.

For nbn, our challenge is to ensure that all Australians, no matter where they live or their circumstances, can connect to high-speed, secure broadband and continue to have access to the employment, education and entertainment opportunities that this technology enables.

We are using all of our resources and drawing on local and overseas expertise to help keep the nation connected, productive, educated and entertained through this crisis.

We have already seen significant changes to our network profile as more people work and study from home, and as they increasingly turn to the internet for entertainment and education.

Since social distancing measures were introduced, we have seen data demand across our network increase by more than 70 per cent during the daytime business hours. But even as we continue to see large increases in daily data consumption, we are not expecting daytime data consumption to surpass the evening peak period.

In the evening busy hours, when network usage peaks at around 9pm, we have seen network traffic increase by as much as 25 per cent.

While these increases are significant they remain well within the capacity headroom we have built into the network.

And importantly – even though we are seeing large increases in usage across the network – congestion, network faults and outages have remained at very low levels with no material increase compared to previous months.

It’s a remarkable effort and a great testament to all our people at nbn that the network continues to operate so well in these unprecedented times.

To me, it shows that nbn is well-prepared to handle Australia’s growing data needs at the time when the nation most needs it.

It means school children can study from home. Their connection to the online world of education being the difference between studies continuing and a whole school year being lost.

It means doctors, with the aid of telehealth services, are treating countless patients without risking themselves with exposure to this insidious virus. This will have a real impact on saving lives, flattening the curve, and helping our health care system reduce strains on its people and systems.

It means more Australians can access the platform and technologies that keep us in touch with our friends and family. It means that those most at risk to COVID-19 can still order their groceries online, it means they can still communicate with their loved ones.

And it means we as a nation are keeping informed and entertained through online media, movies, games and audiobooks.

Ultimately it means that, while our lives might be temporarily isolated to the confines of our homes, we can stay connected and productive. 

There’s no doubt that this crisis presents us all with our biggest test, but I believe it also presents our biggest opportunity.

We know that nbn and the industry will face challenges over the next months as so many people, confined to their homes, push network use to record levels.

This will only compound the importance of the nbn™ access network and the telco sector to the nation.

But it’s in these times of crises that I believe people are at their best, when incredible empathy, creativity and resilience become our defining features.

We’ve of course seen this absolute willingness to help, to collaborate for the benefit of the nation, play out before.

It was on display during the bushfires, it happened during floods, indeed it happens whenever disaster strikes.

By working together, I have no doubt that our industry will rise to this challenge and help the nation when it needs us most."

¹ NBN Co’s build completion commitment is that all standard installation premises in Australia are able to connect to the nbn™ access network as at the build completion date. This excludes premises in future new developments which will be an ongoing activity for NBN Co beyond the build completion date. It also excludes a small proportion of premises defined as ‘complex connections’ – which includes properties that are difficult to access, culturally significant areas and heritage sites – where connection depends on factors outside of NBN Co’s control such as permission from traditional owners, and where network construction to allow such premises to connect will be an ongoing activity of NBN Co beyond the build completion date.

²  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 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. Satellite end customers may also experience latency.
 

The new report follows nbn recently announcing it will waive additional capacity charges of up to 40 per cent to internet providers for at least three months, as it leads an industry-wide approach to maintain access to reliable, high-speed broadband for nbn residential and business customers.

Across all three time periods, nbn expects the majority of data usage to be mainly dominated by real-time video streaming, web browsing, social media and online gaming.

However, since the last week of February, there have likely been large increases in the use of video conferencing and business applications as more people work and study from home.

The nbn™ access network has been engineered to support large capacity increases today and into the future to support Australia’s broadband needs. And, as data demand has grown since social distancing measures were introduced to help slow the spread of COVID-19, services over our network have continued to perform well.

“We are very pleased that the network continues to operate well in these unprecedented times and is accommodating the increased data load. It shows the nbn™ access network is well-prepared to handle Australia’s growing data demand at a time when the nation most needs high-speed, reliable broadband,” says Brad.

Metric	Tbps	Peak	Increase over pre COVID-19
Pre-COVID-19 – Business Hours	7.79	26/02/2020 16:45
Pre-COVID-19– Early Evening	9.81	1/03/2020 19:45
Pre-COVID-19 – Evening Busy Hours	11.04	26/02/2020 21:30
Week prior to last week – Business Hours	8.60	20/03/2020 16:45	10.38%
Week prior to last week – Early Evening	11.24	21/03/2020 19:45	14.60%
Week prior to last week – Evening Busy Hours	12.48	21/03/2020 21:00	12.97%
Last week – Business Hours	9.43	25/03/2020 16:45	21.06%
Last week – Early Evening	12.75	27/03/2020 19:45	29.99%
Last week – Evening Busy Hours	13.77	27/03/2020 21:15	24.71%

Data download limits on nbn™ Sky Muster increased

From 31 March 2020, for a period of up to three months, nbn will increase the download data limits that apply to RSPs for the standard nbn™ Sky Muster™ service. This will provide an additional 45GB* for each standard nbn™ Sky Muster™ service at no additional cost to those RSPs to provide to their customers.

This additional 45GB will allow RSPs, in some cases, to effectively double the average monthly download limits on retail plans offered to many of their customers.

For an RSP’s standard nbn™ Sky Muster™ services, the average wholesale download limits will increase to 90GB* of data on average, depending on the services that the RSP has ordered from nbn and how each RSP passes on these benefits to their customers.

This offer is an effort to support the anticipated higher volumes of traffic as people work from home and conduct schooling remotely.

Expansion of unmetered content on nbn™ Sky Muster™ Plus

Effective 1 April 2020, on an ongoing basis, enhancements for nbn™ Sky Muster™ Plus plans will include an expansion of unmetered content.

Once these enhancements take effect, all traffic on nbn™ Sky Muster Plus plans will be unmetered, except for video streaming and traffic via a Virtual Private Network (VPN), both of which will continue to be metered.

Unmetered activities currently include web browsing, email and operating system updates. As part of these further enhancements, common social media applications such as Skype and Facetime will also be unmetered.

These are just a few examples of where customers can now have additional peace of mind that staying in touch with family, friends and colleagues will not count as part of their monthly data allowance.**

In addition to this expansion of unmetered activities, nbn is also introducing a number of other enhancements to nbn™ Sky Muster™ Plus plans, including:

• a new 25GB+ entry plan offering 25GB of peak data and 25GB of off-peak data for video streaming and VPN traffic, which will improve accessibility for lighter users (available from 1 April);

• functionality to give RSPs greater flexibility to customise the data allowances on their retail plans in increments of 5GB (starting from 25GB of peak data and 25GB of off-peak data, up to 150GB of peak and 150GB of off-peak data) (available from 1 April); and

• a new ‘top-up’ feature, which will provide RSPs with the option of offering ‘top up’ data, should their customers use their monthly metered data allowance (available in coming months). 

nbn has been working on these enhancements since the initial launch of nbn™ Sky Muster™ Plus in August 2019.

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

* nbn intends to engage with RSPs and review demand on the nbn™ Sky Muster™ service following the data increase on a monthly basis and adjust the appropriate level of allocation if required.

** Certain unmetered activities may be shaped to wholesale speeds of 256Kbps between the hours of 4pm and 11pm daily, such as peer to peer traffic, uploads and downloads to cloud storage platforms, PC and smartphone operating system updates, software and gaming updates, and internet activity related to applications which nbn cannot identify.

NBN Co is advising residential and business customers to ensure they are on the right retail broadband plan to meet their needs. Information about the capabilities of different retail speed tiers is available on the nbn website and on retailers’ websites. Customers can check their retail account details if they are unsure about their chosen retail speed tier plan and should contact their retailer if they wish to upgrade to a higher speed service.

nbn Chief Executive Officer Stephen Rue said:

“The additional capacity pricing relief will be offered to RSPs at no additional cost and will help support significantly greater data use on the network throughout the day and during peak evening times. The offer will be made available to the industry from Monday in time to meet the steadily growing data consumption patterns of residential and business customers.

“NBN Co will play the critical role it was set up to fulfil, ensuring Australia’s wholesale digital infrastructure is robust, resilient and reliable. We are confident that this immediate response will make a significant difference.

“We are also mindful that these are unprecedented times and remain vigilant to any unexpected market and usage changes. We will continue to work closely with retailers to support Australians during this time.”

The national broadband network is dimensioned to exceed the nightly peak busy hour throughput requirements from our customers. NBN Co also routinely plans for days of exceptionally high traffic and is working with our European colleagues to understand the potential impacts of isolation events on broadband capacity.

On Saturday 14 March, with many Australians spending more time at home, network traffic was up by more than 5 per cent on the previous Saturday. NBN Co will continue to monitor and augment the network as quickly as possible to meet potential demand surges. The nbn’s peak throughput is typically at around 9pm and, by comparison, during standard business hours of 9-5pm, network traffic is usually around half that of the evening peak.

The company is also planning to limit non-essential maintenance to minimise scheduled, planned outages in the weeks ahead to maintain network availability as much as possible.

nbn Chief Executive Officer Stephen Rue said:

“We are in the fortunate position that more than 90% per cent of the national broadband network rollout has been delivered across the country, so the vast majority of Australians already have access to fast, reliable, secure broadband, which will serve them should they need or want to spend more time at home.”

The rollout of the nbn™ access network is more than 90 per cent complete, meaning the vast majority of Australians already have access to a fast, reliable, secure wholesale broadband network.

With more people working, studying and generally spending more time at home streaming content, we are seeing a change in the profile of data traffic on our network, with increasing residential usage of the network throughout the day and in the busy hours (7-11pm).

Like all infrastructure providers, NBN Co is actively working with retailers to ensure we optimise the network to support Australians in anticipation of unprecedented demand. As always, we encourage customers to contact their internet retailer to understand how their current plan will support their home working needs.

 

We are taking steps to preserve and maintain all network assets.

If we are required to de-centralise our team, we have the confidence that people who can work from home will be able to work from home and, as always, we will keep the network reliable and available.

As everyone can appreciate, we are in a highly dynamic and rapidly evolving situation.

For now, nothing changes.

Completing the volume rollout is still important, but right now, our top priorities are people’s safety and wellbeing as well as protecting and maintaining the existing network.

We continue to prioritise the health, safety and wellbeing of our people including our external workforce and manage our Business Continuity planning, in response to COVID-19. Informed by the latest advice by Government and health authorities (including the WHO and Commonwealth Government), nbn has introduced additional health and safety procedures to support field technicians, including:

• Introducing an additional control whereby technicians are now required to implement a new ‘Call on approach’ procedure, verifying whether there is any reason to suspect risk of exposure to COVID-19 at the premises.
• Rescheduling of appointments if premises is in isolation.
• Issuing additional hygiene instructions and briefings.
• Providing additional hygiene products, including alcohol based hand rub or hand soap, alcohol based wipes and making face masks and disposable gloves available to all field technicians.
• Minimising close contact when on premises and exercising additional wipe downs of all equipment and touch points.
• In keeping with our obligations, continuing to maintain HSE Incident reports.
  

As always, we encourage customers to contact their internet retailer to understand how their current plan can support their needs.

There are also a few practical tips to help people get the most out of their in-home set-up:

• Keep your modem and Wi-Fi router in a central location, free from obstruction and away from interfering objects like televisions and microwave ovens.
• If you’re still not getting the performance you want, it may be that your Wi-Fi router could do with an upgrade.
• Check your plan and talk to your internet retailer about what you need.

With the rollout of the national broadband network more than 90 per cent complete, we have run an accompanying scheme to help with the migration to the nbn™ access network with customers who have medical alarms that have been registered with NBN Co.

We encourage residents to talk to their medical alarm provider and internet provider about their specific needs and we also provide a substantial resource on our website.

The business world has seen a big shift towards remote working and flexible working from home arrangements in recent years. We’ve also seen huge take-up of collaborative tools like video conferencing.

People should take advice from their employers on the best ways to approach their working days.

Of course, there are some general tips we would recommend, including some that can be found above.

If businesses are interested in exploring a service over the nbn™ access network, we encourage them to contact their internet provider and discuss the options available.

Of course, nbn is following the advice from the World Health Organization and Federal Department of Health; and the health, safety and wellbeing of our people and customers is a priority for us.

With the rollout of the national broadband network more than 90 per cent complete, the nbn™ access network is contributing to education outcomes by helping to connect students and parents across the country with digital literacy and innovative learning tools.

We do anticipate that if schools are closed there will be an increase in the use of online tools to help students to continue with their classwork.

More students at home will change the profile of data traffic on the nbn™ access network, increasing residential usage of the network throughout the day and in the busy hours (7-11pm).

Like all infrastructure providers, NBN Co is actively working with retailers to ensure we optimise the network to support Australians in anticipation of unprecedented demand. As always, we encourage customers to contact their internet retailer to understand how their current plan would support their home working needs.  

If you are concerned about your home phone service not working properly, please consider keeping a charged mobile phone available for use in an emergency.

You can also ask your phone/internet provider about whether your modem can automatically switch to a mobile network if there is an outage, and if not, whether you could be upgraded to one.

If your household has someone living with a life-threatening medical condition, they may be eligible for Priority Assistance, which provides faster fault restoration timeframes. Telstra is required by the Australian Government to offer Priority Assistance, though other telcos may offer similar services. Search 'priority assistance' for further information about how to register.

If you use a medical alarm at home that still relies on a home phone line, consider nbn’s Unmonitored Medical Alarm Upgrade Offer – you may be eligible to get a new one that uses the mobile network instead at a substantial discount.