Connecting to the NBN
Some of us have it, but many still don’t. When it’s time to connect, Nathan Taylor will show you how to get on board.
The new multi-technology mix NBN has been something of a movable feast when it comes to technology. The rollout plan has been readjusted multiple times, and for those still waiting for the NBN, sometimes it may seem that the plans for your area change by the week — particularly if you’re in an area that was originally scheduled to get HFC access.
Fortunately, the plans do seem to have settled down a little of late. If you head to nbnco.com.au right now and perform a search on your address, you’ll get a date and a connection type that’s more certain than it has been previously.
Of course, now you’d like to know how this whole thing works, and what you’ll need and what you’ll have to do to set it up when it comes to your area. The answer to that really depends on what flavour of NBN you’ll be getting. There are seven possibilities.
FIBRE TO THE PREMISES (FTTP) WHAT YOU NEED: A BROADBAND ROUTER
With FTTP (also known at fibre to the home/FTTH) most of the equipment needed is built into the box that gets attached to your house during installation. All you will need is a generic broadband router with a Gigabit Ethernet WAN port (many current DSL routers also have a gigabit Ethernet WAN port, and can indeed be used with FTTP).
The installer will attach a utility box to the outside of your house, as well as a connection box and power unit inside your home. The connection box has a Gigabit Ethernet port on it (called UNI-D). It’s into this that you plug an Ethernet cable and connect it to the WAN port on your broadband router. Your landline telephone also plugs into this box.
For most ISPs, the broadband router just uses DHCP for configuration, which is the default setting on most such routers. Some ISPs still use PPPoE with a username and password, however; for those, you’ll have to use the router’s setup wizard.
HYBRID FIBRE-COAX (HFC) WHAT YOU NEED: A BROADBAND ROUTER
HFC uses the cable network laid out during the Foxtel Pay TV rollout to deliver data.
If you currently have HFC connected to your home, there probably won’t need to be any changes or anybody coming into your house. If you’ve never had cable TV or cable internet, however, an installer will need to come in and set it up. Typically, a wall plate will be set up into which a coaxial cable can be plugged.
As part of the setup process, NBN Co will provide you with a cable modem, which will just be called ‘the NBN connection box.’ It’s a freestanding box that will replace your existing cable modem if you have one. The HFC cable from the wall socket plugs into this box. You will then need a standard broadband router to plug into this box, which you will have to get yourself. You run an Ethernet cable from the WAN port of the broadband router
to the UNI-D port on the connection box. The NBN connection box for HFC has no phone support. It’s expected that you’ll use either VoIP for voice, or you can continue using your copper landline for phone calls.
FIBRE TO THE NODE (FTTN) WHAT YOU NEED: A VDSL2 MODEM ROUTER
With FTTN, fibre is being run to street-side cabinets, with only the last few hundred metres to your home using the old copper network. For a user perspective, FTTN looks and works a lot like ADSL. No new equipment is installed in your home and nobody needs to visit your premises. Your current phone line will remain your link to the internet, and will continue to be used for regular phone calls. There will need to be one change on your end. Your old ADSL router may not cut it anymore. You’ll need a modem router with support for VDSL2, the updated DSL standard being used for FTTN. Many newer ADSL routers also support VDSL, but older routers do not.
FIBRE TO THE BUILDING (FTTB) WHAT YOU NEED: A VDSL2 MODEM ROUTER
For multi-dwelling units (like unit blocks), NBN Co is implementing a system similar to FTTN. But instead of street-side cabinets, the node will be installed in the telecommunications room of your unit block. You building’s internal copper wiring will still be used for those last few metres between you and the comms room, however.
Like FTTN, the only thing that changes on your end is the need for a VDSL modem. Nobody should need to come into your apartment.
In the next few years, there is the potential for FTTB to be upgraded. Because the distance between the node and unit is so short, it’s possible to use G.Fast and XG.Fast. These are new DSL standards that can push the maximum speed up to 1Gbps and 10Gbps, respectively, over short copper wires. They will require new modem routers.
FIBRE TO THE DISTRIBUTION POINT/CURB (FTTDP/FTTC) WHAT YOU NEED: A VDSL2 MODEM ROUTER AND A REVERSE POWER UNIT
FttDP (which is being called fibre to the curb/FTTC by NBN Co) is a new technology that’s set to start rolling out next year. It’s coming mainly to areas that were previously serviced by Optus cable. It was originally planned that those areas were to get HFC, but the poor state of the Optus network forced changes. FTTC is also likely to come to areas where power supply issues prevent the installation of a street-side FTTN node.
With FTTC, a ‘micro node’ (or a ‘distribution point unit’) is installed in the telecomms ditch or on the telegraph pole out the front of your house. This micro node only services a small handful of houses — typically one to three houses. Rather than drawing electricity from the power grid like an FTTN node does, the micro node actually draws powers from the homes of the users. It’s expected to draw, on average, about 6W (that’s 0.144kWh per day if you’re concerned about the electricity costs); though it might be up to 14W if yours is the only house connected to the micro node.
Otherwise, it looks and works a lot like FTTN. You need a VDSL modem to access it, and you also need what’s called a reverse power unit which plugs into a power point in your home and feeds power down to the micro node through the phone line. Likely, the RPU will be sent when you sign up for the service. You probably won’t need an installer to come or any changes to be made inside your home, since it uses your existing copper wires for both power and data.
Like FTTB, the short copper runs of FTTC do offer the potential for technology upgrades. NBN Co has already started G.Fast and XG.Fast trials, which potentially offer user speeds of 1gbps or more. They will require new modem routers, however.
FIXED WIRELESS AND SKY MUSTER SATELLITE WHAT YOU NEED: A BROADBAND ROUTER
Much like FTTP, an installer will need to come to your house and install equipment, which will include a connection box attached to a wall inside your home, similar to that of FTTP. On the outside of your home, a satellite dish or fixed directional outdoor antenna will be permanently attached and aligned.
To use it, you connect to the connection box with a general broadband router ( just as with FTTP).