As real estate professionals, you spend much of your day dealing with landlords, tenants or prospective buyers wanting to know everything there is to know about a property. Today, the availability of the Internet, specifically the National Broadband Network (NBN), is something more and more tenants are asking about. Here is an explainer on all things NBN for you courtesy of Direct Connect.
WHAT IS THE NBN?
The NBN is the National Broadband Network being built to connect homes and businesses with high-speed internet. The build is due to be completed by 2021, with over half of Australian properties already connected. That’s the simple part.
Where things start to get more complex is understanding the mix of technologies in use. Knowing the basics and where to go to get more information will enable you to know almost everything there is to know about a property.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF NBN CONNECTIONS?
There are three main types of connections to the NBN, with plans for more than 90 per cent of properties to be connected using these technologies:
- Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) is where a home or business is directly connected to the NBN through the use of fi bre optic cables right to the property.
- Fibre to the Node/Curb (FTTN/FTTC) is where fi bre is run to a central cabinet (a node) or pit in a street that services a specifi c neighbourhood. Homes and businesses in that neighbourhood then connect to that cabinet over the same copper wire currently used for ADSL broadband.
- Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) is where fibre is run to the existing ‘cable’ network technology commonly used to deliver digital pay TV like Foxtel, which is being repurposed as part of NBN. This technology has been placed on hold for nine to 12 months by NBN due to network upgrades required.
NBN will use a combination of wireless and satellite solutions for properties that cannot access any of the main connection types.
HOW DO I KNOW WHAT EACH PROPERTY HAS ACCESS TO?
Understanding which technology is used for each of the properties you manage is as easy as going to www.nbnco.com.au and typing in the property address. The much-improved NBN website now not only details the technology used but also the expected connection date. This is useful information as it enables you to be able to talk to prospective tenants or buyers about a property’s internet connectivity – especially if the property is already connected or is connecting soon, as this can be a point of differentiation for many.
HOW FAST IS THE NBN?
The NBN will be faster than what is generally available now. It is expected that NBN Co. will deliver peak wholesale download data rates of 50mbps to 90 per cent of properties, which in the real world is fast enough to download a movie in minutes rather than hours. Understanding what speeds can be delivered is important for customers to understand. NBN offers four wholesale speeds to telcos, who then package these up for sale to customers:
- 100Mbps is the fastest speed available and is designed for usage by lots of people at the same time. It’s also great for Ultra High Definition or 4K streaming, multi-user streaming and downloading large files.
- 50Mbps is great for multiple-user properties whose residents like to stream videos, play online games, work from home or download movies. This speed has not generally been available for homes using older technologies.
- 25Mbps is perfect for households that use the internet for everyday browsing and for single-user streaming. This is a similar speed to what ‘cable’ internet was achieving before NBN.
- 12Mbps is suitable for households with basic phone or internet usage and is similar to speeds achieved using ADSL2.
WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN TO CONNECT A PROPERTY TO NBN?
There is a schedule that NBN are working towards to ensure that all properties in Australia are connected to the network by 2021. Getting access to the NBN, on the other hand, is a different thing.
Getting access to NBN is done through a telco provider. As we all know, there are many telcos advertising NBN offers everywhere you look. The key with NBN plans, like most things in life, is if it looks too good to be true it probably is.
HOW CAN I MAKE CONNECTING TO NBN EASIER FOR MY TENANTS?
One of the challenges placed on new connections by NBN is the requirement to provide details of the previous landline.
Without this information new connections may be charged hundreds of dollars in additional installation fees. By providing this information to your tenants, you could help save them time and money.
YOU ALREADY KNOW
Direct Connect helps to make moving easy. What you may not know is that we can make knowing a property easy too. In this article our partner, Australian community-owned and -operated Southern Phone, helps us remove the complexity from the NBN. Southern Phone are passionate about taking the hassle out of connecting internet and, like us, making the customer experience as smooth as possible.
Southern Phone offer a range of NBN broadband plans that compete on price, and do so with award-winning service. They take the time to understand their customer’s usage requirements, so they can match and deliver the right plan for data limits and speeds – making NBN with Southern Phone a well-priced, easy and seamless experience.
