The National Broadband Network (NBN) has already rolled out to parts of the Central West, with more premises expected to have service available this year. The NBN is being delivered by different technologies depending upon your location. Connections will be by fixed line, fixed wireless and satellite.

Fixed line services will be provided to customers in larger towns and cities and is provided via a cable into the premises. Fixed wireless services will be provided to customers in outlying areas and smaller towns and is provided via wireless similar to the mobile phone network. Satellite is available to all other areas.

You can find out which technology is in use or planned for your area using the NBN address checker at www.nbnco.com.au.

When the NBN is ready for service in an area served by fixed line services customers will have 18 months to transition to the NBN before their phone and ADSL service will no longer work. Customers served by wireless and satellite have the option to keep their old fixed line telephone service with NBN separate or to have a telephone which runs via the NBN.

What changes?

This depends on what technology serves your premises. For fixed line customers your phone and Internet will be delivered by the NBN network, either using Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) or Fibre to the Node (FTTN). In the Central West, estates built in the last few years are served by FTTP while older areas will be served by FTTN.

Fixed line technologies require power at both the premises and the distribution hub (for FTTP) or node (for FTTN) to operate. Distribution hubs typically have backup power, while nodes do not.

In the case of a FTTP connection, you will have a fibre optic connection from your premises to the distribution hub. NBN can provide a battery backup unit which will power your Network Termination Device for up to 5 hours during blackouts. This will allow your telephone service to continue to work during power outages (as long as you have a telephone which doesn’t require power). If you require this, you should check with your service provider to ensure they can organise it.

In the case of a FTTN connection, the existing copper telephone line into your premises is used up until a node and then fibre optic from the node to the distribution hub. Nodes have no backup power so during power outages your service won’t work, even if you have power available to your modem. nbnco recommend that customers have a mobile phone for use during blackouts and emergencies.

Some service providers will provide a 4G backup service with NBN which will allow your phone and Internet to work during power and NBN outages (so long as your router has power such as from a UPS.)

Customers with medical alarms, security alarms and lift phones should speak to their service provider about their options to ensure these devices still work when they transition to the NBN. In some cases, service providers will recommend the use of devices which use the mobile phone network to ensure these devices work during power outages.

We have a telephone system will this still work?

Some telephone systems can be upgraded to work with the NBN, however we typically suggest that customers replace their phone system as unless it has been installed in the past few years. The additional features newer phone systems provide are well worth the investment.

There are a number of options including standalone systems, software based systems and cloud based systems. We can look at your requirements and suggest the best path to take.

Can I keep my phone number?

Typically yes. Your service provider can provide more information.

Will there be downtime when I switch over to the NBN?

For fixed line customers, the downtime when switching over to the NBN should be minimal. Your existing ADSL and telephone will stop working and shortly after you will be able to use your NBN service. If all goes well, you should have Internet and phone service within the space of a few hours. If it takes longer than this to restore service then there is an issue and you will need to contact your service provider.

For fixed wireless and satellite customers there will be no downtime to your existing service.