NBN upgrades to commence
Work is underway in Barraba and Barraba Fossickers Way to upgrade the NBN Fixed Wireless network
Work has continued on upgrades to the NBN® Fixed Wireless network in Barraba and Barraba Fossickers Way, which will benefit households and businesses across Australia, including Tamworth, providing access to faster speeds* and extending the coverage of the NBN Fixed Wireless network.
The $750 million investment in the NBN Fixed Wireless and NBN Sky Muster satellite network – $480 million from the Australian Government and $270 million from NBN – is on track to be completed by around December 2024.
When complete, the investment will expand the reach of the existing NBN Fixed Wireless footprint by up to 50%, as well as enabling two new high speed fixed wireless plans – Fixed Wireless Home Fast and Fixed Wireless Superfast*. The additional capacity and reach available on the upgraded network will also enable approximately 120,000 existing Sky Muster satellite-only premises to access NBN Fixed Wireless for the first time.
Work has begun to enable the upgrades, including NBN introducing new technology and replacing some hardware on our fixed wireless towers. The tower upgrades will mean some planned outages that may impact homes and businesses and their ability to use their NBN service while the work is underway. NBN will take all reasonable efforts to minimise service interruptions; however, there are occasions where towers will need to be taken offline.
The upgrade work is scheduled to begin in Barraba and Barraba Fossickers Way in the coming weeks. The tower works will not impact NBN fixed line or NBN Sky Muster satellite services. Impacted homes and businesses should be notified of any outages via their retail service provider.
Tom O’Dea, head of NBN Local NSW, said: “There is increasing demand for faster internet from homes and business across Australia and we are continuing to invest in the NBN network to stay ahead of demand. We are excited to have begun work upgrading the NBN Fixed Wireless network in Barraba and Barraba Fossickers Way, which will be a game changer for up to a million households and businesses across Australia. These tower works are critical to the delivery of our program but will mean some planned outages that may affect homes and businesses and their ability to use their NBN service while the work is underway. After the tower works are completed, we expect that faster download speeds during the busy period will become available across the NBN Fixed Wireless network. We are asking the community to prepare for these outages and have back up connectivity if they need it. We encourage people to check the NBN website and watch out for communication from their retail service provider about how the planned outages may impact them.”
To get the benefits of the upgrades, homes and businesses may also need to update the NBN device at their premises. NBN will contact those impacted directly. Not all devices will need to be replaced.
For more information and to register for updates, customers are encouraged to visit our blog for an update on NBN’s Fixed Wireless and Satellite Upgrade Program: www.NBNco.com.au/blog/the-NBN-project/delivering-abetter-broadband-experience-for-the-bush