NBN Frequently Asked Questions NBN Information Pack for Safety Link Clients

NBN Frequently Asked Questions NBN Information Pack for Safety Link Clients

Table of Contents Table of Contents... 2 General FAQs:... 4 What is the NBN?... 4 Do I have to connect to the NBN?... 4 What happens if I choose not to connect to the NBN?... 4 How long do I have before I have to connect to the NBN?... 4 Do I have to pay to connect to the NBN?... 5 What is the Medical Alarm Register?... 5 Should I sign up to the Medical Alarm Register?... 5 How do I connect to the NBN?... 5 Who should I choose as an RSP?... 5 Will my medical alarm work on the NBN?... 6 What is battery backup?... 6 Do I need a battery backed NBN service?... 6 Will my medical alarm work if the power goes out?... 6 Will I have to pay for battery backup?... 6 What is a NTD?... 6 Where should I locate my NTD?... 7 What do I have to tell my RSP?... 7 What do I have to tell NBN Co.?... 7 Do I have to pay to connect my in home wiring to the NBN?... 7 UNI-V and UNI-D ports, what is the difference?... 7 Who is responsible for what on the NBN?... 8 How do I maintain mode-3 wiring on the NBN?... 8 Safety Link Has notified me that I have a TOCD issue with my phone, what does this mean?... 8 Additional Information... 9 NBN Hardware Images... 9 Glossary... 10 ATA... 10 Backup Battery... 10

Codec... 10 Ethernet Cable... 10 Fibre Optic Cable... 10 FTTP... 10 Internet... 10 In Home Wiring... 11 NBN Co... 11 NTD... 11 Router... 11 RSP... 11 TOCD... 11 Traffic Class 1 (TC-1)... 12

General FAQs: What is the NBN? The National Broadband Network (NBN) is Australia s replacement for the ageing copper telephone communication network. The NBN provides a high speed digital data connection directly to your home, and will be primarily used for carrying phone calls and providing high speed internet access. It is expected that the NBN will also be expanded in the future to provide streaming TV content, movies, video telecommunications, and in home health monitoring services. Do I have to connect to the NBN? Yes- Eventually all Australian households will be connected to the NBN in one form or another. Densely populated areas (like cities or large townships) will be connected to the NBN via the Fibre to the Home (FTTH) model, whereas less populated (regional/remote) areas will be connected to the NBN via either wireless or satellite connections. The existing copper network will remain in place for people who live in the wireless/satellite NBN delivery areas, and their current telephone line will not be disconnected in the foreseeable future. What happens if I choose not to connect to the NBN? All Australian households will be migrated to the NBN eventually- Safety Link clients who refuse to connect to the NBN will have their traditional telephone line disconnected automatically if they have not engaged a Registered Service Provider before the 18 month migration period has ended. The 18 month time period starts after you first receive notification that the NBN is available in your area. As long as you have at least booked in a time to meet with an RSP to discuss connecting to the NBN before the 18 month migration period lapses, your copper telephone service will not automatically be cut off. How long do I have before I have to connect to the NBN? You have 18 months to migrate to the NBN after you first receive a letter from NBN Co. advising that the NBN is available in your area- You will have up to 18 months to migrate all services delivered over your copper telephone line to the NBN (this includes medical alarm services, building security, internet etc.), after this time you may need to pay for the NBN to be installed in your home. Safety Link recommends migrating to the NBN as soon as possible to avoid any out of pocket expenses, and to ensure that you have enough time to organise the migration of any other services which are currently delivered over your copper telephone line. 4

Do I have to pay to connect to the NBN? No- Providing you have at least made a booking with a RSP to have the NBN installed in your home within the 18 month period after first being notified that it is available in your area you will not have to pay. Outside of this time you will more than likely have to pay to be connected to the NBN, therefore you should strongly consider migrating to the NBN as soon as possible. What is the Medical Alarm Register? The medical alarm register is used by NBN Co. to identify households with a medical alarm. NBN Co. uses the register to ensure that premises with a medical alarm are migrated to the NBN within the 18 month migration period, and to make sure that residents are appropriately informed of what is required of them to ensure the continued operation of their medical alarm post migration. Should I sign up to the Medical Alarm Register? Yes- Safety Link encourages clients to sign up to the Medical Alarm Register as soon as they are notified that the NBN is available in their area. This places extra checks in place which are specifically designed to assist people to migrate their medical alarm service to the NBN. You can sign up to the register online here: http://www.nbnco.com.au/medical-alarm-register.html How do I connect to the NBN? Contact a Registered Service Provider and notify them that you have a medical alarm- Safety Link recommends clients to inform potential RSPs that they have a medical alarm, and that they require battery backup and a TC-1 (Traffic Class 1) UNI-V connection. Safety Link strongly recommends that if you wish to continue your medical alarm service, you should seek a RSP who supports medical alarms and utilises the UNI- V port. Who should I choose as my RSP? Safety Link does not favour any particular RSP- While Safety Link does not favour any particular RSP, testing of Safety Link s medical alarms identified that Telstra, iinet, and Internode have the best levels of service compatibility with the medical alarms Safety Link uses. It is also important to note that Telstra is the only RSP who will connect a your in home wiring to the NBN free of charge*, but only if you select a voice only NBN service (i.e. people who wish to have an internet service connected to their home as well as their telephone will have to pay for their in home wiring to be connected to the NBN). 5

Will my medical alarm work on the NBN? Yes, Safety Link s alarms work on the NBN-. As long as you ensure that you choose a RSP who supports medical alarms and uses the UNI-V port with a TC-1 (Traffic class 1) connection, your medical alarm should work. In some rare cases Safety Link may need to replace your medical alarm especially if you have had the same unit for greater than five (5) years. Safety Link will advise you if your medical alarm will need to be replaced. What is battery backup? Battery backup provides power to the NTD in the event that mains power is lost, ensuring that your medical alarm will work in a power failure situation- Currently battery backup is automatically provided when NBN Co. installs their equipment into your home. After October 1 st, 2014 battery backup will no longer be provided automatically during installation, and the choice/cost of installing a battery backup will be the responsibility of the householder. Do I need a battery backed NBN service? Safety Link strongly recommends battery backup- This gives your medical alarm the greatest chance of being able to call for help during a power failure over the NBN. Without this device there is no chance that your medical alarm will work during a power failure. Will my medical alarm work if the power goes out? Yes and No- If power is lost to your home and you have a battery backup connected to your NTD, and your medical alarm is connected directly into the NTD (and not a RSP s router), then you will have up to 5 hours of conditional battery backup. Failing this scenario it is unlikely that your medical alarm will work when power is lost to your home. Will I have to pay for battery backup? No- Currently battery backup is offered for free and is installed automatically when you are connected to the NBN. From October 1 st 2014 your preferred RSP will require your consent to install a battery backup device to your NTD, and it will not be automatically installed without your consent. Safety Link strongly recommends agreeing to the installation of a battery backup for your NTD as it helps to ensure that your medical alarm will work in the event power is lost to your home. What is a NTD? The NTD (Network Termination Device) is the termination point of the NBN network in your home. Each home connected to the NBN via a fibre connection has a NTD installed, and it is generally located near where the original telephone line enters your home and where a power point is easily accessible. 6

Where should I locate my NTD? A NTD should be located close to where the existing telephone line enters your home, on an external facing wall, and near an existing power point- NTDs should not be placed in a garage, in a closet (as the NTD requires ventilation), or anywhere where it could be directly exposed to water or the elements. You should also avoid placing the NTD directly in a bedroom as they have very bright L.E.D. lights which many people find annoying when trying to sleep. What do I have to tell my RSP? Inform your RSP that you have a medical alarm, and that you require a battery backup and a TC-1 (Traffic Class 1) UNI-V port- Do not sign any contract where any one of these items cannot be delivered by the RSP. What do I have to tell NBN Co.? Inform your RSP that you have a medical alarm, and that you require a battery backed NBN service- This automatically notifies NBN Co. that your installation requires special services to be provisioned, and ensures that NBN Co. and the RSP are aware of your installation requirements. Safety Link strongly encourages clients to sign up for the Medical Alarm Register as soon as they have been informed that the NBN is available in their area as it helps NBN Co., your RSP, and Safety Link to assist you as much as possible during the migration process. You do not need to directly engage with NBN Co. as this is done on your behalf by your preferred RSP Do I have to pay to connect my in home wiring to the NBN? Yes (with one exception)- You are responsible for the costs of connecting your existing in home wiring to the NBN. The exception to this rule is for people who choose Telstra as their RSP, and only intend to have a voice telephone service connected to their home. Telstra offers free in home wiring connection* to the NBN if you only require a voice (telephone) service over the NBN. Safety Link clients who elect to have both voice and data (internet) services connect to their home do not qualify for free* in home wiring connection. UNI-V and UNI-D ports, what is the difference? The UNI-V ( V for voice port) and UNI-D ( D for data) ports are essentially the same in that they both enable data to be transmitted over the NBN, however the UNI-V port enforces a higher quality codec specifically for voice communication over the NBN (this is required for reliable medical alarm operation) whereas the UNI-D port does not. While medical alarms can work on both port types, Safety Link and NBN Co. strongly recommend that medical alarms are connected directly to a NTD s UNI-V port to provide the highest level of reliability for your medical alarm. This helps Safety Link ensure that your medical alarm will communicate with Safety Link, and that our monitoring staff can reach you after your medical alarm has been activated. 7

Who is responsible for what on the NBN? NBN Co.- Is responsible for the all the network infrastructure and hardware leading up to (and including) the Network Terminations Device located in your home. Customers who elect to have a battery backup installed will be responsible for the battery contained within the battery backup device, however NBN Co. will manage the battery backup device itself. NBN Co. will inform your RSP (who will advise you) in the event that your backup battery needs replacing, but you will be responsible for the cost of replacement. RSP- Your RSP Is responsible for all connectivity and service delivery issues (including hardware they have supplied during installation and all billing charges) in order to deliver telephony and/or data services to your home. Your RSP should be your first point of contact for any service issues relating to your telephones and/or internet services Safety Link- Is responsible for maintaining medical alarm hardware (including service) over the NBN. Safety Link will also inform you of potential configuration risks in relation to your medical alarm service prior to (and during) migration, and will actively inform and engage with new clients on how they may be affected by the NBN in the years to come. Client- You are responsible for all the cost associated with connecting your in home infrastructure to the NBN, as well as the cost of peripheral support devices (such as the battery backup for the NTD or connection of in home wiring etc.). How do I maintain mode-3 wiring on the NBN? In home wiring should be connected directly into the NTD in order to retain the use of existing mode-3 wiring- Depending on your RSP, it may be impossible to maintain the functionality mode-3 wiring offers medical alarms over the NBN. This will need to be assessed on a case by case basis, and will more than likely only become apparent after you have transferred your telephone service to the NBN. Safety Link Has notified me that I have a TOCD issue with my phone, what does this mean? Transition Order Call Diversion (TOCD) issues usually happen if you reside in a NBN rollout area, or if you have recently migrated an existing telephone number to the NBN. TOCD issues generally arise when your telephone provider/rsp fails to completely migrate your current telephone number over to the NBN, which results in Safety Link (and possibly family and friends) having difficulty calling you. Sometimes you may not be aware of the problem, and in these cases Safety Link may be the first to bring it to your attention. If you are experiencing difficulties with people being able to contact you on your telephone, or if Safety Link has advised you that there is a TOCD issue with your service, it is imperative that you notify your telephone provider/rsp that you require TOCD to be attached to your telephone service. Always notify Safety Link when you report TOCD problems to your telephone provider/rsp, and we can perform follow up test to make sure that you telephone line works correctly. 8

Additional Information If you require more information on how the NBN might affect your medical alarm, please contact Safety Link on 1800 813 617 or alternatively you can visit our website www.safetylink.org.au. You can also find out more information about the NBN form NBN Co. s website http://www.nbnco.com.au/ (NOTE: the NBN Co. website does not provide specific information in relation to your medical alarm, this information needs to be obtained from Safety Link). NBN Hardware Images Figure 1- NBN Equipment Overview (Image Approved for use Courtesy of NBN Co.) 9

Glossary ATA Analogue Telephone Adapter. This device is used to convert the digital data transmission (used by the NBN) into an analogue signal that a normal telephone can understand. Normally ATAs are separate devices which are plugged into a router or modem, however the hardware many NBN Retail Service Providers use to connect people to the NBN have this device built in. For Safety Link it is critical that RSP s have an active ATA (FXS) port on their hardware as medical alarms require this port to communicate over. Backup Battery A battery device which supports NBN hardware in the event mains power is lost. Battery backup hardware will not be supplied automatically when the NBN is connected to a residence after October 1 st 2014. As medical alarms are generally connected to RSP supplied hardware, it is critical the battery supports not only the NTD but peripheral devices (such as routers) when mains power is lost. It is also important to note that currently NBN Co. s battery backup hardware does not support peripheral devices. Codec A codec is a data compression algorithm used to minimise the amount of data transmitted over a network. Data compression is generally used in ATA s to minimise cost of transmitting voice information over a digital network (less data transmitted, less cost to the RSP). Medical alarms are very susceptible to data compression, therefore Safety Link recommends only using RSPs which enforce the use of the G.711 codec (i.e. the UNI-V port with TC-1). Ethernet Cable Cable used to transfer digital information from one networkable device to another (also known as a network cable) Fibre Optic Cable A fibre optic cable is very similar to an Ethernet cable in that it transfers digital information from one networkable device to another. The difference is rather than using copper wires to send information from one end of the cable to the other, information is sent using pulses of light. This means that higher amounts of information can be sent end to end at speeds close to the speed of light. FTTP Fibre-to-the Premises. A high speed telecommunications network which uses an end to end fibre optic cable configuration to connect homes to the internet (and to each other). The internet s termination point is always located in the end user s residence in the FTTP model of connection. Internet The internet is a global (digital) communication network used to transfer many forms of information through a standardised communication protocol (TCP/IP). The internet is best summarised as a network of networks, and serves several billion users worldwide. 10

In Home Wiring In home wiring refers to the existing copper telephone wiring which currently connects all of your telephone points together inside of your home. Traditionally Telstra has been responsible for maintaining all telephone lines up to the first termination point inside of your home, and any subsequent telephone points and cables have been the responsibility of the homeowner. With the introduction of the NBN this model does not change. NBN Co. (instead of Telstra) will now maintain all NBN equipment up to the termination device in your home, and it is the homeowner s responsibility to connect any existing in home wiring to the NBN termination device. NBN Co National Broadband Network Company. NBN Co. is a Government owned corporation whose primary responsibility is to design, rollout, install, and manage Australia s publically owned high speed Telecommunications Network. NTD Network Termination Device. The NTD is connected as the endpoint of fibre optic cable in a Fibre-tothe premises (FTTP) connection. All residences being supplied with the NBN via FTTP connection model will have a NTD device installed. The location of this device is often left to the householder, however Safety Link recommends that people should locate the NTD as close to the first telephone point as possible in order to minimise the cost of connecting in home wiring to the NBN s hardware. Router Routers are TCP/IP packet forwarding devices designed to allow multiple devices to be connected to one localised network (much the same as a power board can power multiple devices through a single connection to a power point). Routers are either connected directly to a modem, or inbuilt into a modem itself (modem/routers). Routers (or modem/routers) are generally supplied by RSPs, and are configured to work with their network. RSP Retail Service Provider. RSP s provide access to the telephone and/or internet over the NBN (in much the same way as Telstra, Optus or Vodafone etc. may have provided your telephone service over the copper telephone network). RSP s are responsible for billing you for telephone and/or internet access, and providing peripheral hardware to keep you connected. As the performance of a medical alarm is directly dependent on your RSP s network and hardware, Safety Link recommends only selecting RSPs who can offer an active UNI-V port and a TC-1 connection. TOCD Transition Order Call Diversion. As the NBN rolls out, existing telephone numbers currently associated with copper telephone lines need to be migrated to the NBN. For this process to take place the TOCD process needs to be carried out by RSPs to ensure that a telephone will continue to work as intended over the NBN (normally this happens automatically). If an RSP fails to carry this process out during migration, it is highly likely that a migrated telephone number will not be fully functional. 11

Traffic Class 1 (TC-1) Traffic Class 1 refers to the data transmission rate of a port on NBN hardware devices, and the priority of routing this information has when transmitted. In order for medical alarms to work reliably on the NBN, it is essential that RSPs configure their data transmission ports to be TC-1 compliant (failure to do this may result in extremely poor medical alarm performance). Safety Link strongly recommends that clients ask their RSP to activate the UNI-V port on their hardware, as this port automatically ensures that a TC-1 (high quality, high priority) voice transmission using the G.711 codec is maintained. 12