NBN Co today published its FY25 Annual Service Improvement Plan (ASIP), which details a series of initiatives aimed at improving service outcomes for internet retailers and their customers.

The company's FY25 ASIP details initiatives focused on directly and indirectly improving outcomes for Retail Service Providers (RSPs) and their customers. This is a core part of nbn's Special Access Undertaking (SAU) commitment to the ACCC, government, the telecommunications industry and households and businesses across Australia.

The ASIP framework is used to document and review nbn's plans and execution of service improvement initiatives, with a focus on how these deliver qualitative and quantitative service improvement outcomes for residential and business customers.

NBN Co's FY25 ASIP highlights:

• nbn is progressing the Fibre to the Node/Curb (FTTN/C) to FTTP upgrade program. It is on schedule to make 3.5 million FTTN premises and 1.5 million FTTC premises eligible to upgrade to Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) by the end of 2025^3,4. nbn is working with RSPs to deliver faster migrations to FTTP technology. The company has set nbn Home Fast 100/20 Mbps as the required wholesale speed tier order to trigger eligibility for FTTC to FTTP upgrades, which aligns the order requirement to that of FTTN to FTTP upgrades. Previously, eligible customers connected to the nbn^® network via FTTC had to place an order for Home Superfast 250/25 Mbps to qualify for eligibility for an FTTP upgrade. And as part of enhancing speeds available on the FTTP network, nbn has proposed to deploy new NTDs in customer homes for new FTTP connections. Subject to industry consultation, a new single port NTD will support download speeds up to 2 Gbps⁵ and a new model 4-port NTD would be deployed in certain scenarios.
• Capacity and coverage of the Fixed Wireless network is being increased through a major upgrade program which by around the end of 2024 is targeting to reach over 750,000 homes and businesses, the majority existing in regional and rural communities. This has enabled lifting of the existing Fired Wireless Plus speed tier with potential maximum Peak wholesale speeds of 100 Mbps (download) and 20 Mbps (upload). As part of this program, nbn is also progressively rolling out two new Fixed Wireless higher speed tier wholesale products^1,2. Fixed Wireless Home Fast offers peak wholesale speeds of 200-250 Mbps (download) and 8-20 Mbps (upload) and Fixed Wireless Superfast offers peak wholesale speeds of 400 Mbps (download) and 10-40 Mbps (upload). The upgrade program includes migrating approximately 120,000 satellite-only premises to the improved Fixed Wireless network.
• nbn is simplifying its network to help enable capacity to be available for existing customers. Plant modernisation of the HFC network involves replacement of active (powered) equipment (nodes and amplifiers) and supports the transition towards Distributed Access Architecture (DDA) over time to unlock multi-gig speeds. nbn is scaling deployment of the next generation FTTP platform including the installation of new, XGS-PON capable Optical Line Terminal (OLT) equipment which is designed to enable multi-gigabit speeds.
• Customer Service uplifts aimed at reducing costs for nbn and RSPs will be enabled through proactive detection and repair, reduced repeat appointments and wasted truck rolls, as well as faster connection and restoration of services. Field technician productivity is being lifted through enhanced testing and diagnostics and Gen AI driven text and voice analytics. nbn will also commence discussions with RSPs to further optimise fibre connections for the 57,000 premises currently served by underperforming FTTN lines, enabling FTTP upgrades for these premises without any need for the customer to order a higher speed service.
• A program to transform RSP experience involves improved communication by allowing RSPs to subscribe for service and product updates. nbn is introducing simplified operational interactions for wholesale billing and updates to Service Health Assurance tools.
• Through its multi-year Service Evolution program, nbn plans to standardise customer and network service processes across all network technologies to provide a single view of customer. This is designed to enable consistency in management of customer orders, service faults, network outages (planned/unplanned) and performance degradation.
• Powerful new optics will deliver higher transmit power in the FTTP network and a new RSP system resilience program involving architectural redesign is aimed at enabling the stability and performance of nbn systems at levels expected by RSPs.
  

Anna Perrin, Chief Customer Officer at NBN Co, said:

"Australia's data demands continue to grow at a rapid pace and broadband is an essential part of our daily lives.

"Our fibre upgrade program is designed to enable households and businesses across Australia to access higher speeds while enjoying greater nbn network reliability.

"As we continue to upgrade the network to support Australia's growing data needs, we are also striving to improve service experience outcomes for RSPs and their customers.

"Through our Annual Service Improvement Plan we are collaborating closely with industry to deliver continuous service experience improvements for RSPs and their customers.

"We have committed to a process of open, transparent review of our ongoing service performance.

"And as part of this, have committed to simplifying the platforms and operational environment, improving the reliability of services and products, enabling light-touch and faster service provisioning and fault rectification, and building platforms which enable RSPs to reduce costs and improve consistency of service."