NBN Co launches fibre-to-the-building product

NBN Co is rolling out fibre-to-the-building (FTTB) technology to 6000 homes and businesses in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. 

The FTTB product is one of a wide suite of broadband technologies that is already, or soon will be, available to for customers (44 phone and internet companies) to sell to families and businesses.

FTTB allows families and businesses in multi-dwelling units (such as apartment complexes and office blocks) to receive fast broadband services by connecting fibre-optic cable to existing building wiring. All up, more than one million homes and businesses across Australia are earmarked to receive the National Broadband Network over FTTB.

NBN Co’s chief customer officer, John Simon, said, “FTTB demonstrates that existing infrastructure has a critical role to play in delivering fast broadband to millions of Australians.

“Eliminating the need for individual building designs and in-building wiring cuts down on construction time. Removing the need to install new equipment in the home accelerates the ability of people to connect.

“We’ve been delighted with the results achieved in our FTTB pilot, with families and businesses reporting high rates of satisfaction and receiving an average of 89 Mbps download and 36 Mbps upload.”

Simon said the FTTB product launch formed a strong foundation for the fibre-to-the-node capability, which remains on course for a commercial launch in Q3 2015.