New Fibre Optic
Today, 13-Feb-2019, I found a technician joining a new fibre optic cable at a pit at the south end of Sutton Street. I spoke to him briefly and he says it is a backbone fibre and will run all the way up Sutton Street.
Whilst we have HFC NBN at Waves, it may one day enable us to get the faster FTTB (Fibre to the Building) NBN and gigabit speeds.
Fibre on Sutton
September 2018 - Now Available
I checked today (29-Sept-2018) and I see that the NBN Co has recommenced new NBN connections for us here at Waves.
For first time NBN connections, be advised that the present cabling for your unit is only to the stage of a coiled up Coax lead that has been poked through the firewall above your Unit front door. It is accessible from the first light fitting, just inside your unit.
Any NBN installer will need to know that information about the cable in the previous paragraph. You will also need to decide where you want your NBN wall outlet. This is where your modem and phone (if any) will be located once installed, so plan carefully. It will also need to be near a power outlet.
The installers will extend the cable to where you want it, though in some cases you may have to be firm and demanding as to the location you want.
Choosing an NBN Retailer for Internet Service
When connecting to the NBN, you need to do so through an NBN retailer.
There are many of these, and they are not all the same. The biggest is Telstra, so if you are planning to go with Telstra, or your existing ADSL provider, then that would be the simplest route.
If you are searching around for a new provider, then be aware that most of them you will find are simply re-sellers.
One exception to this is a smaller Telco company, AussieBroadband. AussieBB provide a great service with value for money. They also use only Australian Based help centres, so if you have an issue, it is more easily dealt with.
Choosing a VOIP Telephone Provider
When moving to the NBN, if you want a landline phone, you will be moving to a VoIP ( Voice over Internet Protocol) service. Your existing telephone line will disappear.
All existing phone landlines in Redcliffe will be disconnected at the end of June, 2019.
If you are planning to move from your existing phone line supplier, then consider using MyNetFone for your VoIP line. If you are keeping your NBN with your existing telco, then simplest is to keep your phone line with them.
But if you are moving from one provider to another for your NBN, then it is a good idea use separate providers for your NBN internet, and for your VoIP service. That way you can move one or the other between providers at any stage in the future.
Want to keep your existing phone number? Then the number can be "ported" across to your VoIP provider. Mostly this is with no charge, but sometimes may cost you a few dollars.
Any existing physical phone handset will work with VoIP, so no need for new phones.
AussieBroadBand
If you choose AussieBroadBand, (my chosen supplier and I can recommend them) then you can get the first month FREE by signing up online at aussiebroadband
For the free month it’s important that during the online signup process you enter the promo code WPFREEMONTH in the final stage of the check out process. This goes in the promo code field. With AussieBroadBand, there is no long term contract. They are not re-sellers but have their own direct connections to the NBN network. Their excellent phone support is all based in Australia.
Good luck. John, Unit 15
August 2018 Update
The NBN Co has announced that they will re-commence new HFC NBN connections in the Redcliffe area commencing late September 2018. Once we are able to confirm the availability of new connections we will post a message here.
A few units have had NBN now for several months, and it is very reliable and you are able to subscribe at higher speeds than those available with the legacy ADSL.
April 10th Update Announcement
Today (10-April-2018) the NBN Co announced that they would re-commence new HFC NBN connections in the Brisbane area commencing late June. It is not known yet if this will include the Redcliffe area, but it looks likely.
I have had NBN now for several months, and subscribed to the fastest available speed package of 100/40. There has only been two short outages that I have noticed since November. Each outage was less than 10 minutes.
(John Griffiths, Unit 15)
NBN to Suspend New HFC Connections
You may have read a press release from Monday Nov 27th where NBN have announced they are to suspend all new HFC nbn connections until they investigate and fix some reported network issues. Here is one report... Computerworld Article
The announcement said that the suspension comes into effect immediately.
But there is still time if you wish to get onto the NBN network sooner than about 6-9 months from now.
Providers have been told that orders lodged by December 11th will be connected, but no new orders can be lodged after that date.
Some providers are still taking orders. So try contacting your chosen NBN provider ASAP and see if they will take your order now. If they won't, then I suggest you try AussieBroadBand as I know they are continuing to take orders until the deadline December 11th.