NBN upgrade will deliver ultra fast internet to three in four Australian households by 2023

The coronavirus pandemic has seen Australians rely on the NBN more than ever. Now a $3.5 billion upgrade is set to bring users ever faster speeds.

Australians will have access to “ultra fast” internet under a $3.5 billion upgrade of the National Broadband Network.

Three in four homes and businesses already on the fixed-line net network will have access by 2023.

This includes two million residences that can demand fibre-to-the-home in eligible areas.

Communications Minister Paul Fletcher on Wednesday announced Australians would have access to speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second.

“This is the right time for this network upgrade,” Mr Fletcher said.

“There is a long-term trend of broadband demand growth – with a very significant spike this year as COVID-19 has changed the way we use the internet.

“NBN Co is now well placed to invest in Australia’s broadband infrastructure to meet Australians’ growing appetite for faster speeds.”

The NBN is available to more than 99 per cent of all premises in Australia.

The future-proofing of the network and NBN Co’s push to connect more businesses to fibre services is estimated to create 25,000 new jobs across Australia over the next two years.

Eight million homes across Australia will have access to up to 1 gigabit per second speeds by 2023 with a quarter of those accessing it via fibre-to-the-home.

The Rudd Government’s plan for the NBN in 2009 proposed fibre-to-the-premise.

However, following the election of the Abbott Government in 2013, a widespread fibre-to-the-premise rollout was scrapped in favour of mixed technologies and fibre-to-the-node in a move to save taxpayer dollars.

Under the $3.5 billion upgrade, two million households in designated areas can to request a free connection if signing up to a faster speeds plan following upgrades in neighbourhoods already serviced by fibre-to-the-node technology.

Properties on the fibre-to-the-curb network can also expect consistent speeds of up to 100 Mbps and then on-demand access to speeds to up to 1 Gbps for about 1.5 million households.

Capacity upgrades to 2.5 million premises on the hybrid fibre coaxial network will also boost speeds.

“We have arrived at the point in 2020 where the volume rollout is largely complete,” Mr Fletcher said.

“99 per cent of premises around Australia are able to connect, that’s 11.8 million premises.

“There are 7.5 million premises that are connected, and up to 30,000 a week are connecting.”

After years of rubbishing Labor’s plan for the NBN, and wasting billions of taxpayer dollars, the Liberals have finally admitted that fibre to the home is what we needed all along.

If only they had a Communications Minister telling them so back in 2013. pic.twitter.com/w4NH9eDAqQ

— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) September 23, 2020

NBN Co will borrow money from private debt markets to fund the project.

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said the telco would also refinance its existing $19.5 billion Commonwealth Government loan by June 30, 2024.

The Federal Government this week announced up to $700 million funding to make business-grade fibre services more affordable and accessible.

Broadband services in regional Australia will also be improved under $300 million of co-investment which will allow NBN Co to team up with state governments and councils.