NBN goes commercial

Stuart Corner
Friday, 30 September 2011 11:10

Your IT - Home IT

From tomorrow, 1 October most residents in the NBN first release sites where the FTTH network has been rolled out will be able to sign up for NBN services, via any of the retail providers offering services.

To date only a limited number of existing customers of the retail providers participating in the trial have been able to get services.

NBN co says that, to date around 800 properties have been connected to the NBN trial, double its initial target of 400 connections during the trial period.

NBN Co head of product development and sales, Jim Hassell, said: "[This is] an important landmark for NBN Co as we start to generate our first revenue from fibre services. Not only is the NBN a project that will see our national infrastructure upgraded, it is an investment through which revenues are planned to eventually repay the initial outlay and deliver a return to taxpayers."

Because the NBN supports a standard telephone service, customers will be able to save money on line rentals for their existing phone service. "The one NBN connection is capable of supporting both a voice and a broadband service so users don't need to pay for separate phone line rental and broadband service," Hassell said.

"Some of the NBN service plans so far released by service providers include free local and national calls for a flat monthly fee, making the telephone component of an NBN service very attractive. Others offer quite low prices for untimed local and national calls as part of their monthly access charge."

However, he warned: "Consumers need to consider their existing telephone and broadband contract arrangements before looking to switch services. Also people living in rented accommodation and/or apartment blocks will need to consider their lease conditions and what approval is needed from bodies corporate and/or landlords."