NBN Co sends first Telstra HFC site live

NBN Co has opened its first commercial services on Telstra's hybrid-fibre coaxial (HFC) network, offering retail service providers access to around 2300 premises in the Ocean Reef suburb of Western Australia.

It's the first site to become ready for service in Telstra's HFC network footprint. NBN Co similarly started offering services to the first suburb in the Optus HFC network footprint - Redcliffe in Queensland - in June.

Ocean Reef was one of a number of sites involved in an early works program for Telstra's HFC network that kicked off early this year.

The program allowed NBN's engineers to access and start work on Telstra HFC exchanges in around 40 service area modules (SAMS) covering 100,000 premises ahead of the April signing of a $1.6 billion design and construction management deal with the telco.

Optus, TPG, and Exetel are the first three RSPs to sign up to offer retail services to Ocean Reef residents at launch.

NBN Co said RSPs would be able to access peak wholesale speeds of up to 100Mbps down and 40Mbps up.

Telstra's HFC network will make up the bulk of NBN Co's four-million premises HFC network. About 900,000 premises are expected to be ready for service by June next year, with about 200,000 active users.

“There has been huge debate about the various technologies that we are using to build the NBN but with the recent very exciting developments around new technologies like DOCSIS 3.1 and the Gigabit speeds it will bring, people have begun to understand what a fantastic asset HFC networks will be for Australia," NBN Co chief customer officer John Simon said.

NBN Co acquired Telstra and Optus' HFC assets as part of renegotations of its $11 billion and $800 million respective definitive agreements at the end of 2014.

The network builder is expecting to ramp up its rollout in Telstra HFC areas from next month and throughout the last quarter of this year.

Last month NBN handed a billion-dollar, four-year deal to six construction partners to help it build out the NBN within the Telstra HFC footprint.

Further work in the Optus HFC footprint is currently stalled as the two parties nut out the terms of an infrastructure agreement.