What the NBN means to you

Transcription

1 What the NBN means to you Everybody is talking about National Broadband Network (NBN) and its benefits. However, a lot of the information provided is very generic and many of our customers are asking: What does NBN actually mean for my business? Do I need to do something to ensure my phones / phone system still work with NBN? What do I need to do to benefit from NBN? We want to address these questions in an easy-to-understand way in this document. For any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at or [email protected]. Please also check out which provides a lot of valuable information. 1. What does NBN actually mean for my business? NBN stands for National Broadband Network. While also a technical term, Broadband has become the marketing term for internet access. Typically in Australia it refers to ADSL which delivers high download (24Mb/s) but limited upload speed (1Mb/s). The service is shared amongst users, i.e. the actual speed may vary depending on the number of users and their activities. The NBN is designed to provide the infrastructure for affordable high-speed internet and telephone access to Australian homes and businesses. The NBN s objective is providing access to fibre-to-the-premise (FTTP) technology for 93 percent of Australian homes, schools and businesses. NBN will replace copper cables with fibre-optic cables, allowing speeds up to 100Mb/s for download and 40Mb/s for upload. NBN will change how we receive our internet connection (replacing ADSL). Telephone lines and data connections for consumers will converge.

2 Now to put it all in simple terms, let s relate NBN to road transport for a parcel you want to send : Before NBN, only network carriers owned the roads and only transport companies which they had wholesale agreements with, could drive their trucks on them. To send your parcel you had to pay a transport company to ship it on their trucks over the carrier s roads. These roads are now crowded and old and need upgrading. The NBN will upgrade the roads but will not own any trucks. It s the trucking companies that will enter into wholesale agreements to drive their trucks over the new NBN highways. Some trucking companies may still for a time travel over parts of the old roads and lots of the old roads will be ripped up once the new NBN highway is built. But what is most important: You don t really need to care about this. You will still be able to send the same packages with - in most cases - the same trucking companies. The trucks will just travel over the new NBN highway, i.e. faster than before. 2. Do I need to do something to ensure my phones / phone system still work with NBN? First of all, you do not need to sign up with NBN. NBN is not a retailer, it will only wholesale products to retailing Telephone and Internet Service Providers (TSP, ISP). Some retailers will be TSP s and ISP s (e.g. Telstra, Optus), some may only be ISP s. You will continue to buy your retail services from these TSP s and ISP s. NBN publishes regular updates on when NBN will become available in your area. By end of 2013 roll-out to the areas marked orange in the map will be completed. The rest of Cairns is planned to follow over the next 3 years. However, the result of the next federal elections may have an impact on solution and timeline.

3 Depending on the type of phone lines you have, you may need to do something. If you have ISDN lines the change will not affect you at all, as your ISDN 2, ISDN10/20/30 and Megalink services are exempt and other services as listed in the table below will still be available. Technology CustomNet Spectrum Ethernet Lite BDSL ISDN10/20/30 ISDN2 Megalink Payphones Also known as CustomNet Spectrum Ethernet Lit Business IP Ethernet Lite Connect IP Ethernet Lite GBIP (Government Broadband IP) 1 touch video ISDN10/20/30 Businessline ISDN Dual Node ISDN2 Businessline ISDN2 Enhanced BusinessLine Business Connect / 2 Business Options Connect Business Premium Connect Corporate Connect All-4-Biz (newly released) Megalink Payphones Customer-operated payphones If you are already SIP Trunks for your phone system, you will not have to do anything. Your TSP/ISP will be able to supply it over an equivalent NBN product.

4 If you have traditional (PSTN) phone lines that you use for your phone system, EFTPOS or fax you may need to do something. Depending on number of lines, how your business works and which type of phone system you have you may: 1. not need to do anything, 2. need a converter (ATA) similar to a set top box for digital TV, 3. just need to activate additional licenses in your phone system to take advantage of new products, 4. need a new phone system. To find out the best option for your specific situation, talk to us. Be aware that the first offer you receive from a TSP / ISP is not necessarily always the best! If you still have a dial/rotary phone, this will stop working, so do a number of old style alarm systems and even some faxes and you will have to replace them. Depending on which ADSL plan you have, you may need to do something: You don t need to do anything if you are already on a NBN approved ADSL plan. In this case your TSP/ISP will contact you and change over equipment at no cost to you. If your ADSL plan is not NBN approved, you will receive a letter from NBN asking you to sign up with a TSP/ISP for an NBN product. This letter will provide available options in your area. 3. What do I need to do to benefit from NBN? If somebody tells you that your phone system is NBN ready, they simply mean your phone system is VoIP/IP capable, and therefore ready to take advantage of all the new IP/VoIP based services the NBN will bring via WAN/VoIP/IP and Internet/VoIP/IP. Whether or not you need to have a phone system that is NBN ready is entirely a business decision and has nothing to do with the arrival of NBN. If you want to use new (VoIP) carrier services you can use them on nearly any phone system with current ADSL services now and many of our customers already use all the services that are being touted as NBN services.

5 Most phone systems purchased in the past 6 years or so are NBN ready, even some that are older may also be NBN ready. Many of the VoIP/IP offerings that NBN will bring are already available with your ISP/TSP over the current network. If you are not sure whether your current phone system is NBN ready or just want to talk about options, please contact us at or to [email protected] to find out. Go to to find more information including maps and videos to explain what and when NBN services will be available. Go to to view answers to common questions.