Australians ignoring the NBN arrival are having their internet and home phone connection abruptly shut off

AS THE NBN arrives, thousands of Aussies have already made a mistake, leaving them with no internet connection.

Roughly half a million Australians have so far had their internet and phone suddenly disconnected after failing to switch over to the NBN.

THOUSANDS of Australians have had their internet and home phone service unexpectedly disconnected after failing to switch over to the NBN in time.

Homes and business have 18 months to migrate to the NBN once it becomes available in their area, after which they have their internet and home phone service severed.

NBN Co. notifies residents via direct mail informing them when the network is available and the likely date their current service will be shut off.

But despite the efforts of the NBN, and the likely barrage of direct marketing from retail service providers like TPG and Telstra flogging their NBN packages, many Australians have been caught out.

According to results from a survey carried out by consumer comparison website Finder.com.au which surveyed 2010 people, the company estimated that as many as half a million Australians have so far had their internet and phone service suddenly disconnected.

“I think people tune a lot of it out. They just find the whole prospect really confusing and just ignore it,” Finder.com.au’s technology expert Angus Kidman told news.com.au.

“The politicised nature of the NBN also complicates it,” he said. “I sort of suspect that some people go ‘oh I think the NBN is a bad idea, I don’t want anything to do with it’ not realising that’s not an option unless you don’t want any kind of connection at all.”

However NBN Co. has wholeheartedly refuted the figure, saying if that was the case they would have been inundated with panicked calls.

An NBN spokerperson said that only 900,000 premises have reached the end of the 18 month window, and their numbers indicate that about five per cent (about 45,000 premises) have chosen not to migrate onto the network.

The company doesn’t expect every house to switch over to the network and works on the assumption that roughly a quarter won’t immediately sign up to the service.

“NBN works on the assumption of a take-up rate at the end of the roll-out of 73-75 per cent. This is because not every home will require it, some may be holiday homes, some consumers will choose mobile-only, and there will be other fibre network providers in some areas,” a company spokesperson said.

In December, only 44 per cent of premises in NBN-ready postcodes had made the switch to the new network. Instead, a majority had continued to rely on older copper and cable-based phone and internet services even though the clock was ticking.

As the rollout continues to ramp up, NBN Co. is projecting that almost 50 per cent of the 11.9 million planned premises will be able to switch to the network by the middle of this year.

But for those not paying attention, there will likely be a greater number of people who unexpectedly have their internet and phone lines abruptly cut off as the 18 month window closes.

To see when your home will get the NBN, you can use the company’s address tracker tool.

NBN TRIALS SUPER FAST FIXED WIRELESS SPEEDS

On Wednesday, NBN Co. announced it had successfully trialled 1 Gbps speeds over a fixed wireless connection in a bid to bolster network performance for those in regional areas.

The company has been conducting trials of the technology at a site in Ballarat and announced it achieved maximum peak speeds of 1.1Gbps/165Mbps. The super fast speeds were achieved by using Carrier Aggregation technology that fused seven carriers in the 3.4GHz spectrum band and four carriers in the 2.3GHz spectrum band, the company said.

The exercise is part of a mission by NBN Co. to accelerate peak speeds on its fixed wireless network from 50Mbps to 100Mbps.

“Our ability to deliver gigabit speeds on Fixed Wireless demonstrates our continued focus on identifying and implementing tech advancements as and when they are needed, across all technologies,” NBN chief executive Bill Morrow said.

He also used the moment to highlight the importance of NBN’s spectrum allocation after Vodafone CEO raised concerns that the NBN’s ownership of critical spectrum could clash with international 5G standards, making things difficult for Australian telcos.

“This also underlines the importance of NBN’s spectrum in the 2.3GHz and 3.4GHz bands in allowing high speed services to Australians,” Mr Morrow said.

This article was updated to reflect the estimates of the NBN that only about 45,000 premises have not migrated to the network at the end of the 18 month period.

Workers are installing the NBN around Australia. Picture: Chris Higgins