NBN Co takes steps to fix peak time congestion

WHOLESALE PRICE DROP AND INCREASE IN BANDWIDTH ON THE TABLE.

WE CAN (HOPEFULLY) agree that the NBN is a vastly superior physical network to the Telstra copper telephone wiring that’s been the bedrock of Australian internet for many years. However, because of the way internet bandwidth is bought and sold in Australia, customers on the new speedy line have been suffering from congestion issues at peak times that are arguably worse than those on ADSL 2, even on the fastest speed tiers.

In December, NBN Co introduced new wholesale plans to help alleviate network congestion. This new move entails bundling wholesale access and bandwidth charges to ensure a minimum Mbps speed per user, an increase of 0.5Mbps in the base bandwidth sold to RSPs (Retail Service Provider, the new name for ISPs), a 43% discount on additional 1Mbps bandwidth allocations and a discount on the new bundles that puts them in line with current retail offerings.

While these changes aren’t expected to take effect until the second quarter of 2018, the company is now discounting its current plans to help ease the transition.