NBN Co targets apartment blocks for next fibre upgrade wave

NBN Co is hoping to strike agreements with the body corporates of 50,000 strata buildings nationwide for a subsidised upgrade to fibre.

The network builder is targeting buildings where apartments have fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) or fibre-to-the-curb (FTTC) connections only.

It hopes to migrate up to 700,000 apartments to full fibre connections, but has come up with a different offer than the one it is using to encourage homeowners to upgrade.

Currently, residential customers in the parts of the FTTN/C footprints that are getting overbuilt with fibre qualify for a “free” upgrade to full fibre if they order a service of 100Mbps and above and stick with it for at least a year.

The offer is different for apartment owners, however. 

NBN Co will not deal with the owners individually but instead wants the body corporate to agree to upgrade every apartment in the building to fibre at once, at a cost of $275 per apartment.

“Installing NBN fibre to a building with many apartments is very different to connecting a house so NBN Co has changed its approach to make it practical and affordable,”  executive general manager of products Ken Walliss said in a statement.

“Under the program, NBN Co will enter an area switch agreement with the body corporate for each building which will see fibre delivered to each apartment from $275 including GST (i.e., a 10-apartment building would cost $2750 to connect).  

“This will then allow apartment occupants to contact an internet retailer and sign up to a plan that suits them – although there is no obligation to take advantage of the fibre delivered to their door.” 

iTnews has confirmed that apartment owners would not be limited to plans 100Mbps or above; they could order 50Mbps plans or below and run them on fibre, if it suited them.

NBN Co has set up a search tool to check eligibility of an apartment block.