Did you know you risk losing your phone and internet connection if you don’t switch to NBN by the due date? The National Broadband Network (NBN) rollout is happening across the country but different areas come online at different times.
The NBN is currently available to over 7 million Australian homes and businesses but still (in 2019) 58 per cent of Australian households don’t know the consequences of not switching across to the NBN before the cut-off date. 2020 is the expected rollout completion date and generally, you have 18 months to switch to NBN, from the date NBNco declares your area ‘ready for service’.
But even though NBN is available in 7 million homes and businesses but there’s only a 50% uptake which means many Australians with ADSL Internet and phone service will likely be in for a shock when the completion date passes and their Copper wires are disconnected.
As NBN is only a wholesale broadband provider and doesn’t compete for customers in the retail environment e.g. Telstra, Optus and iiNet. So need to give your current provider notice of switching, which could become troublesome if you are in a contract and your current provider and they don’t offer an NBN plan.
What internet services will be disconnected?
- Telstra Home/landline phone services (except some Telstra Velocity lines).
- Home & landline phone services from all other phone companies, where the service is provided over Telstra’s copper phone lines
- ADSL, ADSL2 & ADSL2+ internet services from all providers
- Telstra BigPond cable internet
- Optus cable internet & cable phone
But exceptions include residents receiving fixed wireless or SkyMuster satellite and Foxtel.
Other services affected include:
- medical alarms, auto diallers or emergency call buttons
- security alarms
- EFTPOS or health-claim terminals
- monitored fire alarms
- lift emergency phones
- fax and teletypewriter devices
See the full list here on NBNco if you’re worried about your particular service.
Once you switch to NBN, you can choose from a wide range of internet service providers, and you can choose the speed of your NBN connection depending on your usage needs. The higher the Mbps, the faster your connection will be, with an average user falling into the Standard NBN 25 option. So do some research find out the speed of your current connection, whether its ADSL or cable internet.
NBN Speeds are in terms of megabits per second”, or Mbps available:
- Basic (NBN 12) – 12Mbps (7Mbps in the evening)
- Standard (NBN 25) – 25Mbps (15Mbps in the evening)
- Standard Plus (NBN 50) – 50Mbps (30Mbps in the evening)
- Premium (NBN 100) – 100Mbps (60Mbps in the evening)
Is the NBN Compulsory?
The answer is Yes. According to the NBN Financial Review article, the NBN roll out progresses the old infrastructure will no longer function. This will leave more than 6 million Australians in a position that they need to make a decision on which ISP to choose.
What’s the difference between NBN and ASDL and cable internet?
The goal of NBN is to bring high-speed broadband to every Australian. But NBN requires a constant external electricity source so if there’s a blackout you will not have internet unless you purchase a backup battery supply for your modem. Whereas current traditional copper-line phones do not need an external electricity source, meaning NBN powered Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) phones will not work in a power cut.
