A new program rolled out in Australia is promising to provide faster internet speeds to two million homes. Homes that currently experience slow and unreliable internet due to their copper connection will be able to request an upgrade to full fibre at no additional cost.
The speedier connection, backed by the government, will have the capacity to support data-hungry families that are now working and studying from home due to the coronavirus pandemic. It will overcome the issue of some locations not being able to receive fibre broadband speeds, leaving them stuck with lower speeds due to the inadequacy of their current copper connection.
As part of the National Broadband Network’s fibre upgrade program, upgrades were recently supported by a hefty $2.4bn investment announced in the October 2022 budget.
“As the internet revolutionizes the globe and our lifestyle, the demand for broadband will reach unprecedented heights over the coming decade. To be prepared for this rising need, we’re increasing our network size. We advise our customers to contact their internet service provider to find out if their package offers enough speed and data,” chief customer officer Anna Perrin said.
If households upgrade to the NBN, downloading the latest Call of Duty game could take a mere 30 minutes instead of the potential seven hours it would take on an older connection, as the government promised in the 2022 October budget it had allocated $2.4bn to extend access to the NBN across the nation, reaching up to 660,000 regional premises.
In New South Wales and Victoria, two of Australia’s most populous states, approximately half a million households are expected to gain access to improved services as a result of the upgrades. Minister of Communications Michelle Rowland said the investment will mean that more Australians are able to switch from traditional copper-based services.