More than three million Australians now eligible for full-fibre NBN upgrades

Media Release from the Hon Michelle Rowland MP, Minister for Communications

MEDIA RELEASE | 13 December 2023

An additional 400,000 homes and businesses across Australia will be able to access full-fibre broadband upgrades as part of the Albanese Government’s plan to deliver a National Broadband Network, with the latest list of eligible suburbs and towns just released.

These newly eligible premises will join the 3 million Australian homes and businesses previously served by a slower, less reliable copper connection that can today already access full-fibre upgrades.

The copper broadband network retained by the former Coalition Government is slower, less reliable, more expensive to maintain and more likely to experience prolonged faults. In contrast, world-class fibre broadband means faster upload and download speeds, and a more reliable connection for residents and small businesses.
 
Access to full fibre is driving productivity savings for households and businesses, with NBN users saving over 100 hours and $2,580 per year by using higher speed broadband.

NBN research shows that the network has delivered $122 billion worth of economic uplift to 2022, and has helped create approximately 169,000 additional jobs – the equivalent of a 1.3 per cent increase in Australia’s labour force.

By the end of December 2023, 75% of premises in the NBN fixed line network will be able to access fibre all the way to their homes and benefit from download speeds of close to 1 Gbps through NBN’s fastest residential plan.

An upgrade will be available on-demand where an eligible household or business takes out a higher speed plan, with no upfront installation cost.

These upgrades have been made possible by the Albanese Government’s election commitment to invest $2.4 billion in the October 2022 Budget to expand full-fibre access to an additional 1.5 million premises by the end of 2025.

More information about eligible premises can be found at: www.nbnco.com.au/residential/upgrades/more-fibre

For more information on the Australian Government’s investment, visit: minister.infrastructure.gov.au/rowland/media-release/albanese-government-delivers-major-nbn-boost-2022-23-federal-budget.

Sara Johnston