NBN Co cuts back targets in new construction plan

Will you get fibre?

The 419 towns and suburbs listed today will predominantly receive either fibre-to-the-node (FTTN), fibre-to-the-basement (FTTB) or wireless technology, NBN Co confirmed.

Eight regions in NSW - Blacktown, Campsie, Gosford, Homebush, Liverpool, Long Jetty, Mulgoa, and Tahmoor - will receive fibre-to-the-premise, while a further nine - Campbelltown, Corrimal, Dubbo, Maitland, Mayfield, Nowra-Bombaderry, Penrith, Richmond and Wollongong - will receive a mix of FTTP, fibre-to-the-node and fibre-to-the-basement.

In Victoria, seven regions - Ballarat, Footscray, Karingal, Keysborough, Melton, Mount Eliza and Werribee - will receive FTTP.  Shepparton and Wallan will receive a combination of FTTP and other broadband technologies.

The Queensland suburbs of Acacia Ridge, Aspley, Bundamba, Freshwater, Greenbank, Ipswich, Petrie, parts of Mackay, Nudgee and Townsville will receive FTTP, while Deeragun and Edge Hill will be given a mixture of FTTP, FTTB and FTTN.

Six regions in South Australia - Aldinga, Macclesfield, Port Augusta, parts of Port Elliot and Victor Harbor, and parts of Yankalilla - have been designated FTTP zones. St Marys and Gawler will receive FTTP and a mix of technologies.

Geraldton will be the only suburb in Western Australia to receive a mixture of FTTP and MTM, while South Perth, Victoria Park, Margaret River, Applecross and Mandurah will enjoy fibre-to-the-premise connections.

Hobart, Glenorchy and South Launceston in Tasmania will receive a mixture of FTTP, FTTN and FTTB, while Bellerive and Launceston will receive pure FTTP.

In the Northern Territory, Berrimah, Palmerston and Nightcliff will receive FTTP, as will Crace in the ACT, while Civic and Queanbeyan in that territory will receive a mix of technologies.

The official switch to the multi-technology mix NBN is still contingent on NBN Co re-signing its definitive agreements with Telstra and Optus.

NBN Co has previously said the contracts would be signed by Christmas, a forecast the company reaffirmed today.

A spokesperson said most of the rollout under the new plan in the first six months of 2015 would focus on fibre-to-the-premise and fixed wireless, with FTTN momentum building in the second half of the year.

The construction plan will be updated every quarter to reflect “ongoing variations brought about by process and technology improvements”, NBN Co said.

Earlier this month NBN Co confirmed that FTTN would become the default access technology for the majority of Australian premises.

The MTM NBN is likely to offer FTTN or FTTB to between 44 and 50 percent of premises in the fixed-line footprint, FTTP to between 20 and 26 percent of premises, and HFC for around 30 percent of homes and businesses.