NBN’s satellite plans to get an upgrade

PEOPLE who connect to the National Broadband Network (NBN) have received some good news, with NBN Co announcing a new plan that will make some internet services quota-free and, for the first time, occasionally allow speeds of above 25 megabits per second (Mbps).

Scheduled to roll out next year, the Sky Muster Plus plan will no longer count services such as email, general web browsing and critical software updates towards monthly data allowances.

However, NBN Co says “use of other web traffic, however, including streaming video and online gaming, will continue to be subject to monthly data allowances, with speeds being shaped if data limits are exceeded”.

Satellite connections are the slowest of the NBN’s mix of technologies and can typically reach no higher than 25 Mbps, but under Sky Muster Plus, the connection can be “boosted above 25 Mbps wholesale speed when applications and network support allows”.

NBN Co chief executive officer Stephen Rue said the company had been listening to feedback from consumers and industry on what we can do to improve customer experience on the Sky Muster network.

“The new Sky Muster Plus product is designed to give regional and rural Australians peace of mind knowing that essential internet services, like emailing loved ones or accessing internet banking, should not slow down if their monthly data limit has been exceeded.”

Corangamite federal member Sarah Henderson welcomed the announcement, saying that it recognises that people living in regional Australia have the same internet requirements as those living in cities.

“With regional Australia producing 70 per cent of Australia’s exports with just 30 per cent of the population, increased data capacity is important to ensuring we build on our economic success,” she said.