Australia's nbn to deploy Nokia’s new OLT and access controller

Australia's NBN Co has selected Nokia’s next-generation fiber broadband technology to deploy on the nbn network beginning in 2023. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The deal will see nbn deploy Nokia’s latest MF series Optical Line Terminals (MF-14) and the Altiplano Access Controller for delivering higher capacity broadband technologies, such as XGS PON, 25GS PON, 50G PON and beyond. 

nbn will be one of the first in the world – and the first operator in the southern hemisphere – to deploy the Nokia MF-14. 

nbn said deployment of Nokia MF-14 OLTs will bring  multi-gigabit residential speeds across its Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) network.  Nokia's Altiplano Access Controller will bring web-scale software management and control to the nbn network. This will allow nbn to deploy enhanced customer experience tools, incorporate smarter systems and automation to reduce costs and improve operational efficiency.

In November, the nbn network reached a record peak rate of 22.35 terabits per second downstream traffic, and this number is expected to increase up to 100 terabits per second in the next ten years.

Stephen Rue, nbn Chief Executive Officer, said: “Rapid technological advances will play a critical role in driving the economic prosperity of our nation and in enabling our transition to a smarter, digitally enabled economy. By leading the deployment of this next-generation technology, we can help meet our nation’s data demands now and into the future. Together with our network investment that is pushing fibre deeper into communities and extending fixed wireless and satellite coverage and capabilities, we are helping unlock social and economic benefits for households, businesses and communities across Australia. More than 8.5 million households and businesses are connected to services over the nbn network – this equates to approximately 20 million people relying on our network every day."

Ricky Corker, Nokia’s Chief Customer Experience Officer said “Nokia and nbn have been partners for more than 10 years and we’re excited to continue to support nbn in this next technological evolution, deploying more advanced and energy-efficient networking technology. "

https://www.nbnco.com.au/corporate-information/media-centre/media-statements/nbn-selects-nokias-next-generation-fibre-solutions

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Australia's NBN now connects 8.2 million premises

Australia's NBN Co generated total revenue of $4.6 billion in FY21, an increase of 21 per cent year-on-year. 

Driving the solid revenue performance was the addition of 933,000 residential and business premises that connected to the nbn network in the last 12 months and a total of 8.2 million premises connected to the network at 30 June 2021.

NBN Co Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Rue, said:

"The last 12 months have been very challenging for most Australians, but our purpose has never been clearer. NBN Co exists to lift the digital capability of Australia and we reiterate our commitment to provide a secure, reliable, high-speed broadband network to our residential and business customers across the country."

"As the nation faces into new challenges with the lockdowns that were recently imposed in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia, we will continue to support customers and internet retailers through these uncertain times. The nbn™ network is the digital backbone of the nation that will continue to keep Australians connected and productive, educated, informed and entertained today and in the future."

Some highlights:

• Customer demand for the higher speed tiers remained strong throughout FY21 with 75 per cent of customers on retail plans based on wholesale download speed tiers of 50 Mbps and above at 30 June. 
• By 30 June 2021, 17 per cent of residential customers were using plans based on wholesale speed tiers offering download speeds of up to 100 Mbps and above, compared to 9 per cent of premises on download speeds of up to 100 Mbps and above at 30 June 2020.
• Following the completion of the initial build by 30 June 2020, capital expenditure for FY21 was $2.8 billion, down 45 per cent on FY20.
• Throughout the fiscal year, capital was allocated to 933,000 new connections, design and construction activity to make an additional 233,000 premises ready to connect, capacity upgrades across the network, and its national network upgrade program, which aims to deliver access to nbn Home Ultrafast services to up to 75 per cent of premises connected to the nbn fixed line network by the end of 2023.

https://www.nbnco.com.au/corporate-information/media-centre/media-statements/fy21-performance-summary

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NBN expands its business fibre footprint

 NBN Co has created 44 new nbn™ Business Fibre Zones to deliver premium business-grade fibre to an additional 60,000 eligible businesses premises across Australia.

The new nbn Business Fibre Zones will be available for the benefit of eligible businesses in these new locations from 1 September 2021. If the business customer signs up to a three-year plan from their internet retailer, NBN Co will not charge the retailer an up-front connection cost.

It follows NBN Co’s announcement in September 2020 to create the first 240 nbn™ Business Fibre Zones, offering direct fibre connections and enabling access to business-grade broadband to a growing customer base of around 790,000 eligible business premises across Australia.

Brad Whitcomb, Chief Customer Officer at NBN Co, said: “NBN Co has a very clear and simple purpose: to lift the digital capability of Australia. We are therefore expanding the coverage of our nbn™ Business Fibre Zones across Australia to help support and grow Australia’s digital economy."

https://www.nbnco.com.au/corporate-information/media-centre/media-statements/nbn-co-creates-44-new-nbn-business-fibre-zones-and-offers-wholesale-discounts-on-business-nbn-enterprise-ethernet-services

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Australia declares NBN "built and fully operational"

Paul Fletcher, Australia's Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, has declared the National Broadband Network as " "built and fully operational." Thedeclaration is one of the steps that must occur under the NBN Companies Act before NBN Co can be privatised, but does not automatically trigger any further steps and the government has stated that it does not intend to consider privitisation during this term of Parliament.

Minister Fletcher stated that his formal declaration is based on a number of factors, including:

• The number of premises able to connect to the NBN is over 11.86 million premises
• At NBN Co’s FY20 results announcement in August 2020 there were around 100,000 complex premises yet to be made ‘ready to connect’ (RTC), that number has now reduced substantially and is expected to be around 35,000 as at 31 December 2020
• New premises are being built all the time. This means that there will always be a number of premises around Australia that are not yet ‘ready to connect’. The fact that there is a certain number of premises which are not ready to connect is not of itself evidence that the network cannot be treated as ‘built and fully operational.’

“In my view the evidence before me shows it is appropriate to make the declaration that the NBN should be treated as built and fully operational’, Minister Fletcher said.

"Of course the government recognises that there are some premises which have not yet been made ready to connect – and I expect NBN Co to work as speedily as possible to make the network available to those premises.

"The government also recognises that there is continuing work to enhance the capabilities of the network. Earlier this year we announced a $4.5 billion upgrade to the NBN; the work to deliver that upgrade will be carried out over several years.

"Also, in some areas the NBN can only operate at full speed once all legacy copper services are migrated to an NBN or alternative service, which typically takes 18 months from when the NBN commenced services in an area. To minimise interference to the legacy services of other carriers during this period, the NBN operates with reduced signal power which reduces network speeds.

"But this doesn’t mean that NBN Co will stop developing. I fully expect that the Company will operate as a mature entity through continual improvement in the provision of quality services to its broadband retail customers, and ultimately to Australian households and businesses, as well as driving efficiency in its operations.

"As with all large telecommunications networks, NBN Co will need to keep investing in additional network capacity, extend its network to connect new developments and remediate technical issues as they arise."

https://minister.infrastructure.gov.au/fletcher/media-release/nbn-declared-built-and-fully-operational

Australia's NBN Co pushes fiber deeper and advances HFC network upgrade

Monday, October 26, 2020  Australia, NBN Co  

NBN Co is pushing fibre deeper into communities in selected metropolitan and regional areas of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. The fibre deeper work will pass more than 100,000 premises in areas currently serviced by Fibre to the Node (FTTN) technology, effectively converting FTTN locations to FTTP. NBN Co said it will consult with Internet retailers before finalising the design for its extended fibre network.

This marks the start of NBN Co’s $4.5 billion network investment program, which aims to make nbn’s highest wholesale speed tiers available, as demand arises, to around 8 million premises – or up to 75 percent of homes and businesses on the fixed line network by 2023.

NBN Co also reports that it is making good progress on its Hybrid Fibre Cable (HFC) network upgrade program. The company now expects to offer download speeds of 500 Mbps to close to 1 Gbps to approximately 625,000 premises, or around 25 percent of the HFC network footprint by November 2020.

NBN Co also reports that it is making good progress on its Hybrid Fibre Cable (HFC) network upgrade program. Since the company launched its nbn Home Fast, nbn Home Superfast and nbn Home Ultrafast wholesale speed tiers in May 2020, 100 percent of customers connected via HFC have been able to order nbn Home Fast; approximately 70 percent have been able to order nbn Home Superfast, and approximately 7 percent of customers in the HFC footprint have been able to access the fastest residential speed tier1.

https://www.nbnco.com.au/corporate-information/media-centre/media-statements/nbn-extends-fibre-to-additional-100k-premises

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Australia's nbn activates Disaster Satellite Services

 NBN Co is rolling out a Disaster Satellite Service  to communities and emergency services personnel during and in the aftermath of emergency events, such as bushfires and floods. 

The service is provided with funding from the Australian Government’s Strengthening Telecommunications Against Natural Disasters (STAND) package. Specifically, NBN Co has been awarded a grant of $7 million to install nbn™ Disaster Satellite Service units at designated emergency management sites and evacuation centres across the country. Around 95 nbn Disaster Satellite Services will be installed by the end of the year, with the remaining locations to be completed in 2021 as agreed with Federal and state and territory governments.

https://www.nbnco.com.au/corporate-information/media-centre/media-statements

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Australia's NBN turns its attention to premium business services

Australia's NBN Co announced plans to invest up to A$700 million in a multi-faceted package of initiatives over the next three years to support business innovation, productivity and growth.

NBN Co said its goal is to significantly expand the national reach for Internet retailers to offer solutions based on wholesale business nbn Enterprise Ethernet services, increasing choice and availability for businesses across the country. 

• The creation of up to 240 nbn Business Fibre Zones across Australia, including a presence in 85 regional centres. All businesses within these zones will have access to Enterprise Ethernet, at significantly reduced wholesale prices. In total, these zones are expected to cover more than 700,000 business premises. nbn is disclosing the locations of the first 130 nbn Business Fibre Zones, including 61 in regional locations such as Bunbury, Mount Gambier, Devonport, Shepparton, Port Macquarie and Rockhampton. 
• Businesses in nbn Business Fibre Zones will see Enterprise Ethernet pricing reduced, some by up to 67 percent, giving thousands of regional businesses access to the same support as businesses in capital city centres, at the same wholesale price. Enterprise Ethernet is NBN Co’s fastest symmetrical wholesale product and premium-grade business offering. It has options for prioritised traffic, high capacity and symmetrical upload and download wholesale speeds from 10Mbps to close to 1Gbps, as well as enhanced 24/7 support through the business nbn Operations Centre with a dedicated team located in Australia. 
• NBN Co has allocated $50 million over three years to work with local councils and state and territory governments to identify opportunities to extend business-grade services outside designated nbn™ Business Fibre Zones.
• When an Internet retailer places an order for Enterprise Ethernet, for an estimated 90 per cent of business premises in the national nbn network footprint, NBN Co will not charge the retailer for building the fibre. Plus, if an Internet retailer signs up for a three-year Enterprise Ethernet plan, NBN Co will not charge the retailer an up-front connection cost.

"Having helped level the playing field for residential internet services with the rollout of the nbn™ network, we are now turning our attention to accessibility for our premium-grade business services, helping businesses in regional areas access the benefits of competition, enhanced broadband support services, and better wholesale nbn prices for the digital services they need to succeed," stated NBN Co Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Rue.

https://www.nbnco.com.au/corporate-information/media-centre/media-statements/business-fibre-initiative

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Australia's nbn reports shifting data traffic patterns

Australia's nbn reports that data demand on its main wholesale access service continues to peak above pre-COVID-19 levels as more Australians continue to rely on the network for their work, entertainment and education needs.

The figures show peak download throughput (the measure of data flowing through the nbn network) during the busy evening period increased by 20 percent to 13.2 Tbps on the main nbn wholesale service, compared to the last week of February (which nbn measures as its normal pre-COVID-19 baseline).

Peak download throughput during the week beginning Monday, 8 June also increased compared to the pre-COVID-19 baseline during daytime business hours, up 15 percent to 8.9Tbps, and during early evening hours, up 23 percent to 12.1Tbps, on the main nbn™ wholesale service.

The uptick in downstream data demand for the week beginning 8 June coincided with the release of a software update for a popular online multi-player game. Meanwhile, new customers continue to connect to nbn. Nearly 500,000 new customers have signed up to the nbn™ network since the beginning of March, utilising the nbn™ network for their work, education or entertainment needs.

Peak upload throughput on the main nbn™ wholesale service in the evening busy hours for the week beginning 8 June increased by 20 percent to 0.93Tbps, compared to the pre-COVID-19 baseline.

https://www.nbnco.com.au/corporate-information/media-centre/media-statements/australian-broadband-data-demand-new-customers-continue-to-connect

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Telstra posts declining profitability, impact from nbn

Telstra reported flat  FY18 revenue of AU$26 billion, with EBITDA declining by 5.2 percent to AU$10.1 billion. Net profit was AU$3.5 billion, down by 9 percent from AU$3.9 billion in FY17.

The company attributed its declining profit to the National Broadband Network (nbn) and mobile competition.

Telstra CEO Andrew Penn said the results showed strong customer growth for the year and good progress on Telstra’s productivity program, however, the continued downward pressure on EBITDA and NPAT caused by the further rollout of the nbn and lower Average Revenue per User (ARPU) clearly reinforced the importance of the T22 strategy.

“We have seen strong subscriber growth, particularly in the second half of the year, adding 342,000 retail mobile customers, 88,000 retail fixed broadband customers and 135,000 retail bundles during FY18,” Penn said. “Despite this, the challenging trading conditions are expected to continue in FY19, including ongoing pressure on ARPU and further negative impact of the nbn network rollout on our underlying earnings.

Some highlights for the first half of the year

• Mobile net adds - 235,000 retail mobile customers including 130,000 postpaid handheld; churn 10.9%
• 21,000 Belong mobile; +118,000 wholesale mobile customers
• underlying core fixed costs declined 7.2% 
• Fixed EBITDA (ex nbn C2C1)-29% negatively impacted by growing nbn network payments and loss of wholesale margins. 
• nbn impact in period $370m; $870m life to date 
• >1m Telstra TVs
• >1.5m AFL, NRL, Netball Telstra Live Sports Pass users
• New nbn connections +454,000 (market share 51%, ex- satellite); retail bundle adds +57,000
• Mobile service revenue -1.2% with post-paid 
• handheld ARPU -2.9%
• Global connectivity revenue +6.7% (LC)

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FWD: Australia's nbn hits 4 million connection milestone

Australia's nbn broadband access network initiative surpasses the four million connection milestone -- representing the halfway mark of the previously stated goal of connecting eight million homes and businesses by 2020.  This compares with approximately 2.4 million connections a year ago.

“With our aim to help bridge the digital divide and see that Australians, regardless of location, have access to fast broadband, we are proud today to announce that the rollout of the nbn access network to regional Australia is on the home stretch. We have seen a massive improvement in regional internet access, with our wholesale broadband services offering more competition, faster speeds and even giving some Australians internet access for the first time," stated NBN Co’s CEO Bill Morrow.

Key points

• In regional Australia, nearly all homes and businesses outside of major urban areas now in design or construction stages, or able to order an nbn™ service from a phone or internet provider.
• Australia now ranks 17th among OECD countries (up from 29th in 2012) in terms of equality of internet speed and proportion of people without internet access. By 2021, Australia is estimated to move from being in the bottom 10 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries in equality of internet access and speed to the top 102.
• The nbn access network is estimated to have helped drive A$450 million in additional gross domestic product in regional Australia in the 2017 financial year and is forecast to drive an additional $5.3 billion in additional gross domestic product in regional areas in FY21.
• The nbn access network is estimated to have helped create an additional 1,750 jobs in regional Australia by the 2017 financial year and this employment impact is forecast to reach up to 20,000 jobs by FY21.
• Annual growth in people working from home in regional areas with access to the nbn access network is significant, at 2.2 per cent per year from 2011–2016 versus a decline in the annual growth rate of 1.1 per cent in regional Australia without access to the nbn™ access network.
• The growth of new businesses in regions connected to the nbn access network accelerated at twice the pace of the national average with up to 5,400 additional new businesses created in 2017.

Australia's NBN Co launches Fibre-to-the-Curb

Sunday, April 08, 2018    No Comments

NBN Co announced the launch of Fibre-to-the-Curb (FTTC) access service in its first locations.

NBN Co has provided a limited release of FTTC services to more than 1,000 homes and businesses in Coburg, North Melbourne in Victoria and Miranda, South Sydney in New South Wales. A larger rollout is planned for later this year. The service supports speeds up to 100/40Mbps. Faster speeds will be possible when G.fast becomes available over the copper link into the home. NBC Co expects to launch G.fast later this year too.

“As with the introduction of any new technology, we will continue to gain insights as we navigate the complexity of the build as well as potential issues which can arise when people connect to the network. We are committed to working with internet providers to optimise the customer experience of people who connect the network using nbn™ services over the FTTC network before we make services available to a larger footprint," stated Brad Whitcomb, NBN Co’s Chief Customer Officer – Residential.

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Australia's NBN to deploy G.fast in 2018

Australia’s broadband network, NBN, confirmed plans to deploy G.fast beginning next year.

G.fast becomes another access technology in NBN's "multi-Technology toolkit." G.fast technology will be supplied by the company's three existing fixed-broadband suppliers Nokia, ADTRAN and Netcomm Wireless.

G.fast can take broadband speeds past the current 100Mbps levels delivered by VDSL technology to deliver speeds of up to 1Gbps over copper lines by using higher frequencies of either 106MHz or 212MHz – compared to just 17MHz on VDSL.

JB Rousselot, Chief Strategy Officer, nbn said "adding G.fast to the toolkit for the FTTC and FTTB networks will allow us to deliver ultra-fast services faster and more cost effectively than if we had to deliver them on a full Fibre-to-the-Premises connection."

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Coriant wins Australia's nbn "We Deliver" award

nbn, the company building and operating Australia’s national broadband network, selected Coriant for the ‘We Deliver’ award at its recent nbn Supplier Summit held in Sydney.

The Coriant hiT 7300 Multi-Haul Transport Platform powers the nbn optical transport backbone, which now spans over 60,000 kilometers.

The ‘We Deliver’ award recognizes Coriant’s quality solutions and service excellence consistency since nbn’s inception.

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Australia's nbn selects Coriant CloudWave

nbn, the company building and operating Australia’s national broadband network, has selected the Coriant CloudWave Optics solution for its existing nationwide optical transport backbone network.

The nbn transcontinental optical transport backbone (known as the Transit Network) spans over 60,000 kilometers of fiber and is built upon the Coriant hiT 7300 Packet Optical Transport Platform. The Transit Network allows nbn to connect the different nbn Multi Technology Mix access nodes to points where the traffic is transferred to service providers, known as Point of Interconnect (POI). The access nodes are the modern equivalent of a local telephone exchange and can be located many thousands of kilometers from their corresponding POI, of which there are 121.

Coriant said the introduction of its CloudWave Optics technology within the existing hiT 7300 network will provide nbn the ability to leverage the industry’s latest advances in high-speed, low latency optical networking, including per-wavelength transmission at speeds of 200G and beyond.

“Coriant’s CloudWave solution will help us in scaling the nbn and connecting 8 million happy homes by 2020. Maximizing the performance of our fiber optic infrastructure is critical as we expand the capacity of the nbn network throughout Australia and enable residential and business customers to take full advantage of fast and reliable broadband,” said Peter Ryan, Chief Network Engineering Officer at nbn.
Deployment of the Coriant flexi-rate solution, which is scheduled to begin in 2017, will target high-traffic routes within the nationwide nbn backbone network.

“Keeping pace with end-user traffic demands while lower operating costs is a challenge shared by network operators and cloud providers around the world,” said Petri Markkanen, Managing
Director, Asia Pacific, Coriant. “Our CloudWave Optics solution provides these operators a powerful toolkit to seamlessly scale to higher speeds while delivering proven ROI through lower power, reduced space, and improved reach performance.”

http://www.coriant.com

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Australia's nbn begins roll-out of FTTC technology, aims to reach 1m premises by '20

nbn of Australia announced it has commenced the initial stages of deploying its advanced fibre to the curb/kerb (FTTC) access technology, which is expected to serve more than one million homes and businesses nationwide by 2020 as part of its national broadband network (nbn).

Designed to enable faster broadband speeds through extending fibre closer to customers, the FTTC technology will provide access to services over the nbn network by delivering fibre to the driveway of the home.

nbn stated that is also working with retailer customers that will offer the new service to end users to develop a FTTC product, which is scheduled to be available to consumers and businesses by mid-2018.

The nbn network is currently available to almost half of Australia's population, with plans to reach three quarters of the country by the middle of next year and to complete the roll-out by 2020.

Key regions where nbn plans to commence construction of the FTTC network during the second half of 2017 include: New South Wales – 96,100 premises in Sydney/greater Sydney; Victoria – 89,000 premises in Melbourne/greater Melbourne; Queensland – 44,200 premises in Brisbane/greater Brisbane; ACT – 4,600 premises in greater Canberra; South Australia – 22,800 premises in Adelaide/greater Adelaide; Western Australia – 9,000 premises in Perth/greater Perth.

http://www.nbnco.com.au/corporate-information/media-centre/media-releases.html

• nbn recently announced that it had reached a total of 5 million home and business premises with its wholesale broadband network, and that there were a total of 2.2 million customers connected to the network.

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nbn demos 1 Gbps in DOCSIS 3.1 trials in Melbourne

Australia's nbn, which is rolling out a national broadband network, announced that it is preparing to introduce gigabit access speeds for eligible homes and businesses in the cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, as well as the Gold Coast in Queensland.

nbn noted that the announcement follows trials of DOCSIS 3.1 technology on its hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) network, which previously served to deliver Telstra's pay TV cable services.

The company stated that during lab trials of DOCSIS 3.1 technology conducted in Melbourne, it achieved downstream speeds of up to 1 Gbit/s, similar to the highest speed currently available to retail service providers using the nbn FTTP network. The trials delivered upstream speeds of up to 100 Mbit/s, which is more than double the current highest rate of 40 Mbit/s upload retail speed available via HFC retail services over the nbn network.

nbn noted that it will be amongst the first operators outside of the U.S. to commercially launch DOCSIS 3.1-based services as an upgrade for its HFC network, enabling the delivery of Gigabit and higher  downstream wholesale speeds over the network.

nbn is planning to conduct further lab testing of DOCSIS 3.1 technology in August, prior to launching field trials in December this year, with a commercial launch of DOCSIS 3.1 services expected in 2018.

http://www.nbnco.com.au/corporate-information/media-centre/media-releases.html

• Earlier this year, nbn announced that it had achieved gigabit transmission speeds during a fixed wireless technology demonstration conducted in Ballarat, Victoria. For the trial, nbn used 2.3 and 3.4 GHz spectrum as part of its effort to use a range of technology to meet both current and future bandwidth demands within its multi-technology mix (MTM) strategy. The fixed wireless demonstration achieved 1.1 Gbit/s downstream and 165 Mbit/s upstream speeds utilising carrier aggregation technology to combine seven carriers in the 3.4 GHz band and four carriers in the 2.3 GHz band. As part of the demonstration nbn also delivered trial peak downstream/upstream speeds of 400/55 Mbit/s, 250/50 Mbit/s and 100/40 Mbit/s using a range of carriers in the 2.3 and 3.4GHz spectrum bands. The trial involved technology partner Ericsson, NetComm Wireless and Qualcomm.
• nbn also announced it had partnered with Nokia to trial NG-PON2 technology potentially able to support symmetrical speeds of up to 10 Gbit/s in FTTP networks. nbn noted at the time that NG-PON2 could also be used to enhance services in FTTB and fibre-to-the-kerb networks when combined with technology such as G.fast and XG.FAST, while also providing additional capacity over fibre supporting HFC and fixed wireless networks.
• During trials in Melbourne, NG-PON2 delivered bandwidth of up to 102 Gbit/s in the lab, based on 40 Gbit/s symmetrical speed using TWDM-PON technology, 10 Gbit/s symmetrical on XGS-PON and a further 2.5 Gbit/s with current GPON technology.
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Australia's nbn passes 5m premises, 2.2m customers connected

nbn, responsible for building a national broadband network in Australia, which in April reported it had reached 4.5 million homes passed and 2 million connected customers, has now announced a further significant roll-out milestone with 5 million homes and businesses now able to connect to retail services over the nbn network.

nbn, which is constructing a new and upgraded wholesale broadband network to provide communities across Australia with access to fast broadband from retail service providers, aims to deliver universal high speed access across Australia and a goal of connecting 8 million homes and businesses by 2020.

nbn noted that under its multi-technology mix (MTM) model, FTTN and HFC deployments are driving the increased rollout rate, with the two technologies together now serving around half of the 5 million premises that are able to connect to retail services over the nbn network. It noted that the rate of nbn network deployment is currently averaging 250,000 premises made serviceable each month in the year to date.

The company forecasts that the roll-out pace will increase further over the three months from April to June, during which period it expects to make a further one million premises serviceable as it approaches the target for financial year 2017 of 5.4 million premises ready for service (RFS). Retail services on the nbn network are currently available to nearly one in two Australians. The network is scheduled to be three quarters completed by mid-2018 and complete by 2020.

nbn stated that customer activations are also increasing, with 2.2 million premises now using retail services over the nbn network, with approximately 130,000 new premises signing up with retail service providers each month.

Reported by state, nbn noted that RFS premises are as follows: New South Wales – 1,572,676; Queensland – 1,041,981; Victoria – 1,105,618; Tasmania – 235,452; South Australia – 410,191; Western Australia – 513,300; Northern Territory – 88,645; and Australian Capital Territory – 67,209.

http://www.nbnco.com.au/corporate-information/media-centre/media-releases/Five-million-premises-can-connect-to-the-nbn.html

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nbn demonstrates 1.1 Gbit/s data rate in fixed wireless trials

Australia's nbn announced that it has achieved gigabit transmission speeds during a fixed wireless technology demonstration conducted in Ballarat, Victoria.

For the trial, nbn used 2.3 and 3.4 GHz spectrum as part of its ongoing effort to employ the appropriate advanced technology to meet both current and future bandwidth demands within its multi-technology mix (MTM) strategy. The latest demonstration achieved 1.1 Gbit/s downstream and 165 Mbit/s upstream speeds utilising carrier aggregation technology to combine seven carriers in the 3.4 GHz band and four carriers in the 2.3 GHz band.

As part of the demonstration nbn also delivered trial peak downstream/upstream speeds of 400/55 Mbit/s, 250/50 Mbit/s and 100/40 Mbit/s using a range of carriers in the 2.3 and 3.4GHz spectrum bands.

nbn noted that the 1.1 Gbit/s transmission speed was achieved by bonding together three next generation wireless network termination devices (WNTDs) - the antennae located on the roof of a nearby school - while the lower speeds were enabled via a single WNTD. The trial involved the use of a spare operating sector on an established nbn fixed wireless tower and the installation of additional radio equipment.

The trial was conducted with nbn's fixed wireless technology partner Ericsson, NetComm Wireless and Qualcomm, with the speed tests carried out utilising technology from Mill Software.

nbn has previously committed to launching a new wholesale nbn100 fixed wireless product targeting the regional business segment in 2018, and the latest high speed fixed wireless technology demonstration was designed to illustrate its ability to launch faster services over the nbn fixed wireless network. nbn anticipates that around 600,000 premises in regional Australia will be served by the fixed wireless network.

Earlier in April, nbn announced it had partnered with Nokia to trial NG-PON2 technology that could potentially enable symmetrical speeds of up to 10 Gbit/s for FTTP services. nbn noted that NG-PON2 could also enhance services for FTTB and fibre-to-the-kerb networks combined with technology such as G.fast and XG.FAST, as well as providing extra capacity over fibre supporting its HFC and fixed wireless networks.

During trials in Melbourne, NG-PON2 delivered bandwidth of up to 102 Gbit/s in the lab, based on 40 Gbit/s symmetrical speed using TWDM-PON technology, 10 Gbit/s symmetrical on XGS-PON and a further 2.5 Gbit/s with current GPON technology.

http://www.nbnco.com.au/corporate-information/media-centre/media-releases.html

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nbn of Australia trials Nokia universal NG-PON fibre technology

Nokia announced that Australia's nbn, which is deploying a national broadband network and recently reported it had passed 4.5 million premises, has tested its universal NG-PON fibre solution at the Nokia lab facility in Melbourne.

Nokia stated that the nbn trial achieved aggregate broadband speeds of 102 Gbit/s on a single fibre and demonstrated the dynamic provisioning of bandwidth to help support increasing data demand from residential and business customers.

Nokia's universal NG-PON technology converges TWDM-PON (also termed NG-PON2), XGS-PON and GPON technology on the same fibre and is designed to enable a straightforward upgrade path from the current technology utilised in FTTP deployments.

Designed to be deployed as an overlay on existing fibre networks, TWDM-PON and XGS-PON is designed to remove the time and cost associated with laying new fibre. TWDM-PON can support four or more wavelengths per fibre, each of which can support asymmetrical or symmetrical bit rates of 2.5 or 10 Gbit/s and delivering total capacity of 40 Gbit/s. XGS-PON utilises a single wavelength to support 10 Gbit/s symmetrical or asymmetrical bit rates.

nbn trialled the different PON technologies using Nokia's universal next-generation PON solution, which includes: TWDM-PON enabling 40 Gbit/s symmetrical bandwidth; XGS-PON providing 10 Gbit/s symmetrical bandwidth; and  GPON, offering 2.5 Gbit/s bandwidth.

Combined, the technologies delivered download and upload speeds of more than 102 Gbit/s in the aggregate over a single, shared fibre.

Nokia noted that the testing of TWDM-PON and XGS-PON technology is the latest in a number of trials nbn has conducted with Nokia using fibre and copper infrastructure. In October last year, Nokia and nbn trialled copper-based XG-FAST technology during which they demonstrated throughput speeds of up to 8 Gbit/s in lab conditions.

Conducted in nbn's North Sydney lab, the test achieved peak aggregate throughput of over 8 Gbit/s over a 30-metre twisted-pair copper cable, with a 5 Gbit/s peak rate achieved over 70 meters of twisted-pair cable.
http://www.nokia.com/en_int/news/releases

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Australia's nbn Reports Service Available to 3.8m premises, up 129% yr/yr, 1.6m Customers Connected

Australia's nbn has released financial results for the six months to December 31, 2016, noting strong performance in terms of key metrics and affirming that it is on target to reach the half-way point for its network roll-out by mid-2017 and its goal of completing the network by 2020.

Highlights for the six-month period ended December 31, 2016 include:

1. The number of premises able to order nbn service reached 3.8 million, up 129% compared with the prior year six-month period.

2. The number of homes and businesses with an active service on the nbn network increased to 1.6 million, up 125% year on year.

3. FTTN deployments enabled the higher rate of network build, with currently more than 1 million FTTN premises ready for service.

4. Revenue for the half-year totalled A$403 million (approximately $310 million), up 146% versus the first half of fiscal year 2016.

5. ARPU for the period remained stable at A$43, flat year on year.

nbn noted that in December 2016 the weekly run rate for new premises made ready for service rose to approximately 48,000 on a 12-week rolling average basis; for December 2015, the equivalent figure was 21,000 premises.

In terms of customer connections, the December 2016 weekly run rate reached approximately 20,000, roughly double that of the prior year period. In addition, by the end of January 2017 the weekly run rate for new connections had increased to 28,000.

nbn cited further key achievements for the half-year period including the launch of the second Sky Muster satellite into orbit and an increased focus on implementing advanced fibre-to-the-kerb technology in its network mix.

Commenting on the results, nbn CEO Bill Morrow, said:

- "Now, 80% of the country is either in design, in construction or already able to order a service… the company is on track to reach the half-way point of the rollout this year… nbn is refining processes with retailers to ensure ordering and installing a service on the nbn network can be completed more efficiently".

- "Already more end users are purchasing plans from retailers based on the 100 Mbit/s wholesale speed tier… nbn experienced the greatest incremental growth in this speed tier in the December quarter".

http://www.nbnco.com.au/

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