More Geelong, Surf Coast suburbs eligible for NBN upgrade

THE number of Victorian homes and businesses eligible to upgrade to full-fibre connections on the National Broadband Network (NBN) has reached more than 700,000, with many suburbs and towns in the Geelong region on the list.

Last week, NBN Co announced the 700,000 figure included almost 150,000 premises in regional Victoria.

Selected homes and businesses now serviced by the NBN network via Fibre to the Node (FTTN) and Fibre to the Curb (FTTC) can now upgrade to Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) with an eligible plan.

The fibre upgrade program is being supported by $2.4 billion from the federal government earlier this year and another $500 million from the Victorian government through the Connecting Victoria program being rolled out to more than 100,000 households, with more than 30,000 of these already delivered.

Suburbs eligible to upgrade from FTTN or FTTC to FTTP through this funding are Anglesea, Barwon Heads, Belmont, Corio, East Geelong, Geelong, Geelong West, Grovedale, Hamlyn Heights, Highton, Lara, Leopold, Manifold Heights, Marshall, Moolap, Newtown, Norlane, North Geelong, North Shore, Ocean Grove, Point Lonsdale, South Geelong, Torquay, Wandana Heights, and Waurn Ponds.

 

NBN Co says more Victorians than ever are now eligible to order full fibre connections and get the benefits of the NBN’s fastest and most reliable residential speeds, including Home Ultrafast, which is nearly 18 times faster than the average nbn home connection and has peak wholesale speeds close to 1Gbps.

Victorians are using 10 per cent more internet data than just two years ago, and the national consumption of data has more than tripled in seven years.

NBN Co customer experience expert Jane McNamara said more customers than ever were using their NBN connections to do things such as cloud gaming, virtual and augmented reality, streaming, working from home and online learning, which had led to more people connecting to full fibre.

“For the average Australian household which now has 21 connected devices, fibre provides a fast, reliable and consistent online experience, even at the busiest times of the day.

“Most importantly, it’s designed for a future where giant leaps in technology, and homes with multiple devices are the norm.

 

“NBN fibre enhances online activities such as video calls, gaming and live streaming by providing faster response times and minimal lag.

“This means customers can simultaneously engage in video calls, upload photos, download large files, and enjoy online streaming or gaming with less buffering or dropouts.”

“On our fastest residential speed plan you may be able to download a Call of Duty: Cold War (130GB) game download in under 30 minutes – compared to potentially seven hours on a standard residential plan.”

To trigger an upgrade, eligible customers can purchase a high-speed internet plan through a participating internet retailer.

To find out more, head to nbn.com.au/fibreupgrade