LABOR TO IMPROVE NBN RELIABILITY AND SPEEDS IN BLAIR

28 April 2019

A Shorten Labor Government will implement a plan to deliver a better experience for NBN consumers, by improving reliability and speeds for up to 3,400 Fibre to the Node households in Blair.

Under our plan, NBNCo will work with service providers to improve in-home cabling problems to lift speeds and reliability, at no cost to the end user.

In-home wiring, which runs between telephone sockets in the home, can  cause interference to the signal that reaches the mdoem. In Fibre to the Node households, this reduces NBN signal quality, which in turn causes dropouts and poorer speed performance.

The issue is estimated to impact up to 1 in 5 households on the copper-based Fibre to the Node network.

NBNCo has completed trials which found addressing problematic cabling improved service stability, reduced dropouts, and increased attainable speeds by an average of 11 megabits per second.

It currently costs $150 for households to have this problem fixed.

Under Labor's plan, if a household is identified as being affected, a technician will be offered to fix the issue at no cost.

The record of the Liberals speaks for itself: Australia is ranked 59th in the world for broadband speeds and their delivery of the NBN is $21.4 billion over budget and four years behind schedule.

In contrast, Labor has a near term plan to improve the experience of consumers; and we have a responsible long-term strategy to deliver more fibre through co-investment.

Australian households and businesses deserve an NBN that is affordable, delivers great value for money, and is reliable.

This initiative is part of Labor's commitment to delivering a better NBN experience for consumers.