An expert's view on what the recent upgrade to nbn™ Fixed Wireless service will mean for regional and rural Australia.

An nbn™ Fixed Wireless tower in regional Australia.

Gavin Williams, nbn's Executive General Manager, New Developments, Wireless & Satellite, is one of the people behind the rollout of the nbn™ Fixed Wireless network.

The service is designed to bring faster internet to hundreds of thousands of regionally-located Australians.

We speak with Gavin to get an insight into what the nbn™ Fixed Wireless network will mean for regional and rural Australia.
 

What is the Fixed Wireless service and who will get it?

The rollout of the nbn™ Fixed Wireless network will provide regional and rural Australia with a new broadband access technology.

Currently, halfway through the rollout, 300,000 rurally located Aussies are able to be connected to the nbn™ network via Fixed Wireless.
 

What will this mean for people living in rural and regional locations?¹

Many Australians will be able to access nbn's Fixed Wireless service and use a range of internet applications. Prior to the nbn™ rollout, many Australians in rural areas became accustomed to having a poor broadband connection.

Now, with access to broadband via the nbn™ Fixed Wireless network, more people will be able to harness education, work and entertainment opportunities.

Jeremy Bannister of Haddon reaping the benefits of nbn™ Fixed Wireless service for his home and business. Find out more about the Bannisters here.

How will businesses benefit? Particularly those in remote areas? 

Access to broadband over the nbn™ Fixed Wireless network is designed to bring a plethora of advantages to regional Australian businesses.

Online accounting and financing tools (programs and apps) may alleviate time and efficiency pressures, for those commuting to work or located in remote areas.

Ordering from suppliers, taking customers’ orders and rostering might be executed from the comfort of one’s home. Being able to work from home may also facilitate more of a work / life balance.

Most importantly, rural businesses may be able to better compete with metropolitan ones, and consequently metro institutions will have global opportunities more readily available, in part courtesy of the nbn™ broadband access network.

¹ Your experience, including the speeds actually achieved over the nbn™ Fixed Wireless network, depends on: the configuration over which services are delivered to your premises,  whether you are using the internet during typical busy periods, such as evenings, when more people are online, and some factors outside our control (like how far away your premises is located from the transmission tower, your equipment quality, software, broadband plans, signal reception, the plan you choose from your provider,  the performance of your modem, Wi-Fi, cabling, other devices in your premises and how your service provider designs its network). Speeds may be impacted by network congestion on nbn’s Fixed Wireless network, including during busy periods.