4-minute read

We’re aiming to improve the internet experience of nearly 750,000 homes and businesses in nbn’s Fixed Wireless network footprint. Here’s how.

What we’re doing

So, what are we actually doing?

We’re optimising our Fixed Wireless network by installing next generation 4G and 5G mmWave equipment to our towers, deploying software enhancements across the network and upgrading antennas on customer premises.

Our new and improved technology is designed to offer more range, more speed, and more capacity to regional and remote Australia.

Let’s take a look in more detail…

Reaching new speeds

Following the release of a speed uplift earlier this year, for nbn Fixed Wireless Plus customers, our network is now achieving typical wholesale busy period speeds (download) of close to 100 Mbps.^{#, *, ±, §}

This wholesale download speed uplift may enhance streaming, gaming and browsing experiences and help make online activities more enjoyable and efficient.^{#, §}

Achieving lower latency

While increased wholesale speed is a common focus for nbn’s Fixed Wireless network upgrades, it’s equally important to note that our upgrades are helping to reduce latency – the time it takes for your internet traffic to reach its destination^#. Lower latency can mean a smoother experience for activities that are sensitive to delays, such as video conferencing, gaming and voice calls.

We’ve enabled this lower latency by increasing our Fixed Wireless network’s capacity to allow high-speed bursts of traffic to pass through without queuing, designed to enable less delay and less jitter (the variation in delay). These upgrades help enable a more responsive nbn network in addition to faster speeds^#.

Improving Network Termination Devices

Extending reach through 5G

nbn will be among the first in the world to deploy 5G mmWave technology on a national scale to a dedicated Fixed Wireless network.

We’ve previously talked about introducing long-range 5G mmWave to our towers. There are now thousands of nbn customers actively using this technology every day, some as far as 6.9 kilometres (km) from their respective base stations.

Where 5G mmWave was once considered limited by its short range and high frequency, we’re planning to stretch that maximum connection distance out to about 11km early in 2025, further demonstrating its long-range capabilities for Fixed Wireless access networks.

It’s well-known, though, that millimetre-wave 5G is sometimes not as effective in adverse weather conditions including rain.

So, customers can rest assured that their service will also be connected to our mid-band network.

This enables a solid and robust, high-capacity anchor connection, even when nasty weather impacts those higher millimetre-wave signals.^#

nbn’s Fixed Wireless network is engineered to help peak and busy period speeds to be met regardless of the spectrum band and technology in use.^#

Our intention is that deploying 5G will help provide faster nbn Fixed Wireless connections, enabling new technologies and applications designed to improve daily life, such as smart home devices and augmented reality experiences.^#

Listening to you

And, of course, we’ve been listening to your valuable insights.

We’ve heard feedback that the ‘Signal Strength’ LEDs on version 4 of our Wireless NTD units can be confusing. For example, users have reported seeing a single red LED light even when they’re achieving high download speeds.

Here’s the reason: those LEDs measure Signal to Noise Ratio, which is about signal quality rather than pure signal strength. It does impact speeds, but the LEDs don’t currently consider the bandwidth you can access so, in the end, it doesn’t accurately reflect the service you’ll get.

To address this, we’ll soon deploy a new software update that changes how these LEDs operate. After this, you’ll have a clearer view of your wireless link’s performance.

What you can do

For optimal performance and to fully benefit from these tech innovations across our Fixed Wireless network, it’s recommended you have a good quality router with at least 1 Gbps Ethernet link and modern Wi-Fi variants, such as Wi-Fi 6.

You can check your in-home network performance by running speed tests directly connected to the nbn Indoor Unit (IDU) or using an Ethernet-to-USB converter.

These tips will help you optimise your home network and ensure you get the best possible performance from your nbn Fixed Wireless connection.

# An end customer's experience, including the speeds actually achieved over the nbn network, depend, on the nbn access technology and configuration over which services are delivered to the customer's premises, whether they are using the internet during the busy period (7pm - 11pm), and some factors outside of nbn's control (like the customer's equipment quality, software, chosen broadband plan or how their provider designs its network). For nbn Fixed Wireless it will also depend on the number of people in the household online at the same time.

* This measure will be an estimate based on a sample of nbn Fixed Wireless wholesale services and will measure the average speed at certain points in each hour of the busy period between 7-11pm to identify a ‘typical busy period speed’, in line with the methodology outlined in the ACCC’s Broadband Speed Claims Industry Guidance Paper (October 2020). For each sample measured it will take into account factors outside of nbn’s control such as environmental impact on radio signal strength, but will not take into account retail level, in-premises or user factors that could impact the end user service. Actual end user speeds will differ as a number of factors influence this, including the particular end user applications in use at the time, end user equipment and software, and the number of concurrent users on the nbn Fixed Wireless service.

±These are nbn wholesale speed tiers, which nbn provides to retail phone and internet providers. Attainable wholesale speeds are subject to the rollout of network upgrades and some premises will require nbn to complete upgrades to the equipment at the premises.

§ These are nbn wholesale speed tiers, which nbn provides to retail phone and internet providers. Attainable wholesale speeds are subject to the rollout of network upgrades and some premises will require nbn to complete upgrades to the equipment at the premises.