NBN Co reveals suburbs 'likely' to get FTTdp

NBN Co has revealed for the first time the 42 areas of Australia that are among those expected to end up with fibre-to-the-distribution point (FTTdp) technology.

The company has earmarked 21 ‘fibre serving areas’ in NSW, 18 in Victoria, and three in Queensland, amounting to some 450,000 premises.

All sit within the Optus HFC footprint, which was last year deemed substandard and too expensive to upgrade.

NBN Co last year said it would put these areas onto FTTdp but did not provide specifics.

However, it has now offered up a breakdown of those 450,000 premises, which NBN Co CEO Bill Morrow told a supplementary estimates hearing in November last year “will likely see the fibre-to-the-kerb technology”, another name for FTTdp.

In NSW, the suburbs slated for FTTdp include: Botany, Burwood, Como, Cronulla, Dural, Edensor Park, Frenchs Forest, Guildford, Homebush, Hornsby, Hunters Hill, Kogarah, Miranda, Mona Vale, Orchard Hill, Peakhurst, Ramsgate, Revesby, Rockdale, Silverwater, and Springwood.

In Victoria, the areas slated to benefit from FTTdp cover Altona, Coburg, Chelsea, Dandenong, Epping, Fawkner, Frankston, Footscray, Heidelberg, Lilydale, Laverton, Mount Eliza, Montrose, North Esssendon, Newport, Richmond, Seaford, and Thomastown.

In Queensland, NBN Co has listed Bundamba, Brassall, and Ipswich.

FTTdp has emerged as a highly-favoured option in NBN Co’s multi-technology mix given it promises higher speeds by bringing fibre closer to the doors of premises.

NBN Co has previously said FTTdp deployments would likely begin this year once trials are completed and regulatory hurdles sorted out.

The company signed on three construction partners to build out the FTTdp network at the end of last year.

The declaration by NBN Co of which suburbs will likely receive FTTdp is at odds with recent changes to the company's rollout map, which stripped details of the access technology that suburbs could expect to see.