When it comes to using digital tools for efficient productivity, like eCommerce, video conferencing and cloud applications, NBN Co knows broadband requirements can range from business to business.

Yet, many don’t think their broadband over the nbn™ access network is fit for purpose.

In keeping with this, nbn’s internal research has found that one in four small businesses have been connecting on residential plans, rather than business-grade services.

So, what differentiates business nbn™ from home nbn™?

Priority

business nbn™ offers service providers the wholesale option of ‘priority data’ over the nbn™ access network.*^†

Committed Information Rate (CIR) is the optional feature available on business nbn™ products that helps deliver consistent wholesale upload and download speeds over our network.

To ensure the right services are prioritised, services are categorised by ‘wholesale traffic classes’ to help differentiate them and ensure the ‘correct lane’ is taken.

Three traffic classes exist and are used over the nbn™ access network: Traffic Class 1 (TC1), Traffic Class 2 (TC2) and Traffic Class 4 (TC4).

TC1 is primarily used to support voice services, specifically voice over internet protocol (VoIP), which features CIR to support high quality voice communication that require steady and consistent wholesale bandwidth.†

TC2 is designed for business-critical data services. This traffic class is designed around high-performance, real-time data for applications and services, such as e-commerce and video conferencing, that require consistent and predictable download and upload speeds.^†

TC4 is the standard product used for residential services, and is a “best efforts” service, which means the wholesale speeds offered to providers represent a Peak Information Rate (PIR) – the maximum speed attainable at the wholesale level on an uncongested network.†

Symmetry

Upload speeds are becoming increasingly important for businesses digitally transforming with the growing adoption of collaboration tools, including video conferencing and cloud applications.

Deloitte research found 42 per cent of businesses adopted cloud services in 2019, compared to 31 per cent in 2016. This exponential uptake of cloud-based solutions has seen to offer new ways of managing operations and reducing businesses costs, resulting in almost 1 in 4 Australian businesses seeing cloud services as helping change business models.

To help enable cloud capability, businesses could benefit from symmetrical wholesale speeds.

business nbn™ offers service providers wholesale options of symmetrical wholesale bandwidth speeds from 5Mbps over TC2^, and close to 1Gpbs over business nbn™ Enterprise Ethernet.‡

Enhanced service support

NBN Co also understands that businesses require a higher level of support to rectify faults within our control, to help reduce downtime and greater impact on the business.

Enhanced service levels are available on the nbn™ access network to phone and internet providers, with up to 24/7 support available for mission-critical services.#

Supporting the enhanced service assurance levels is NBN Co’s business nbn™ Operations Centre.

Here, a dedicated Australian-based team of more than 100 experts offer 24/7 specialist technical support to phone and internet providers with the aim of providing quicker response times when faults occur.

Wholesale bundle discounts designed for different business needs

From sole traders to micro businesses, and small to medium-sized enterprises to multi-national companies, the needs of businesses in Australia can be as varied as the products and services they sell.

Our wholesale discount bundles – available over the fixed line nbn™ access network – cover a spectrum of options from ‘Basic’ (designed for smaller businesses) through to ‘Premium L’ (designed for data-intensive and multi-site organisations).† Please note that some bundles are only available on certain nbn™ fixed line access technologies.

They combine wholesale features such as high speeds, committed bandwidth and premium service levels, all at a discounted wholesale charge designed to deliver savings for phone and internet providers, and to help meet the needs of businesses.§

The business nbn™ Enterprise Ethernet wholesale broadband product is also available and designed to provide access services through a dedicated fibre connection from a fibre access node on nbn’s transit network into the end customer’s premises to deliver wholesale symmetrical committed speeds of close to 1Gbps‡ and premium service assurance levels.

* business nbn™ is not available on the nbn™ fixed wireless network.

^ TC2 priority data options are only available on the nbn™ fixed line network, excluding HFC.

† An end customer’s experience, including the speeds actually achieved over the nbn™ broadband access network, depends on the nbn™ access network technology and configuration over which services are delivered to their premises, whether they are using the internet during the busy period, and some factors outside of nbn’s control (like their equipment quality, software, chosen broadband plan, signal reception, or how their provider designs its network). Satellite end customers may also experience latency.

‡ Regardless of the bandwidth profile for the service an end customer acquires from their service provider, it will operate at less than 1000 Mbps and no more than 952Mbps because of normal equipment and network limitations. In addition, an end customer’s experience, including the speeds actually achieved over the nbn™ network, depends on some factors outside our control (like their equipment quality, software, and how their service provider designs its network). If an end customer’s service provider has not selected Class of Service High, speeds the end customer experiences may be affected by contention on the nbn™ network, particularly in busy periods.

# Enhanced service levels and 24/7 support are not available on the business nbn™ Satellite Service.

§ business nbn™ wholesale bundles are not new products – they are a combination of existing nbn™ wholesale products and services. When a service provider purchases these products and services together, they are then offered a discount on the wholesale price for those products and services. nbn cannot guarantee that these discounts will be passed onto end users. The nbn™ wholesale products and services are ordinarily only one input into the retail solutions offered to end users.