Internet capacity boosted as more South Australians work from home

With thousands more workers likely to take their jobs home in the coming weeks, the NBN is increasing its capacity for at least three months to handle the extra usage.

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More internet capacity will be made available across the National Broadband Network from Monday to prevent it from buckling as Australians work from home to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

NBN Co announced on Wednesday that providers like Telstra, Optus, Vodafone, and TPG would have access to up to 40 per cent more capacity across all technologies at no additional charge for at least three months.

Federal Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said that meant retailers could give a bigger pipe to their customers, so the data kept flowing as more and more people worked from home.

“And when the work is done, the bigger pipe will also help when people are watching movies on Netflix or Stan, or playing video games,” he said.

Demand during business hours has this week risen up to six per cent nationally.

Demand for NBN during business hours this week has increased by six per cent. (File image)

Opposition communications spokeswoman Michelle Rowland this week called for additional capacity fees to be waived, and commended the NBN Co for the quick decision.

But Flinders University senior lecturer, Dr Paul Gardner-Stephens, has raised concerns about 80,000 South Australia premises across the Fleurieu Pensinula and other regional areas connected to the NBN via fixed wireless or satellite.

He said they were likely to have “a degradation in their internet speeds, and get more dropouts” unless extra transponders were installed.

“That’s because it’s fundamentally limited by how many people can use it, because the frequencies can only be used by kind of one person at a time,” he said.

Federal Mayo MP Rebekha Sharkie said she has significant concerns for 12,000 premises with wireless technologies, saying the “NBN is a lottery” in her electorate.

Sections of at least 100 suburbs across Adelaide are still due to connected to the NBN by its June 30 deadline, which NBN Co says it expects to meet despite some material coming from China.