nbn lifts restrictions for FTTC customers to transition to FTTP – Good news for consumers

For the over 800,000 Fibre To The Curb (FTTC) customers on the nbn there’s some good news. As the new financial year kicks in, NBN Co have thrown out the requirement for customers wishing to upgrade to the much faster Fibre To The Premises (FTTP) technology to also upgrade their plans.

Approximately 1.3 million Aussies have taken advantage of the FTTP upgrade and are enjoying the speed boosts offered and for the first time customers on FTTC can apply for the free upgrade without committing to the previous minimum speed plans of 100 mbs or greater.

FTTC utilises the fast fibre network to provide service to a point at the front of their homes but relies in most cases on legacy copper lines from there to their homes, resulting in a slower, less reliable service. This refined offer will bridge that gap and give FTTC customers the same benefits as full fibre customers and importantly their upgrade path can truly be free from additional costs.

As the old systems age it puts pressure on the provider to maintain old, unreliable hardware so it is advantageous to the nbn to replace the old wires with new infrastructure

38% of all nbn connections are FTTP so this lifting of restrictions should see that figure steadily climb over the coming months.

Bec Heap, Executive General Manager Products and Pricing at NBN Co, said:

“More Australians than ever are upgrading to full fibre and realising the benefits of greater reliability, faster speeds, and better customer experience.

This change makes it easier for even more Australians to experience those benefits, while accelerating the removal of ageing nbn copper from the network.    

“Full fibre not only offers multi-gig speeds, but is also far more reliable, more responsive, and more resilient through storms, floods and fires.

“The scalability of fibre means we’re not only delivering a better service today, but ensuring our network can continue to grow with the rapidly evolving needs of customers for decades to come.” 

So if you are a current FTTC customer you can check if your address is eligible on the nbn website or give your ISP a call to request the change.