New NBN technology coming for Springvale, but customers should read the fine print before signing up

Fibre-to-the-Curb (FTTC), an improved version of the Fibre-to-the-Node (FTTN) technology, will see a fibre-optic cable run along the street with only the final few metres of copper phone line used.

However, the announcement is likely to be met with scepticism with NBN customers across the region complaining about their services. According to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, delays in connections to the network, faults including unusable services and dropouts were regularly reported to the watchdog.

Veritech owner Livio Mazzon said while there were teething problems with the rollout, the technology behind the NBN was fundamentally solid.

“Some people say the NBN is poorly thought out but the fibre optic cable in the ground is future-proofed,” Mr Mazzon said. “I’ve seen tests of speeds up to 17 terrabytes per second over fibre and any future upgrade from 100 megabit to one gigabit speeds could just be a case of a simple flick of the switch.”

Originally hailed as a once-in-a-lifetime infrastructure project, the NBN was changed from it’s fibre-optic vision to a cheaper version that included satellites and wireless connections. While the change meant more people could get connected sooner, it also led to confusion about just what was on offer.

“It was about how to get the most houses hooked up in the shortest amount of time,” Mr Mazzon said. “You can hook up the end of a street and do 30 houses in the time it would take you to do one house. It’s not just one technology, there’s a mix of satellites, fixed wireless and wired connections.”

Customers connected to the NBN via satellite can get speeds of up to 25mbps while fixed wireless customers can get 50mbps and fibre-optic customers can get 100mbps. But the cost of those services vary wildly, which has led to a push for more transparency from service providers.

“You need to check what’s included when you sign up,” Mr Mazzon said. “If you go for the cheapest you won’t get the fastest connection. You can always get a better service, but you have to pay for it.”