First 2,000 Canberra premises can upgrade to full-fibre NBN, another 2,000 by Christmas
NBN Co has released the first 2,000 ACT premises for fibre-to-the-premises upgrades in Holt, Griffith and Narrabundah, with a further 2,000 expected by Christmas. Construction has begun on more than 38,000 premises.
More than 2,000 premises in Canberra can now order full-fibre NBN upgrades, and another 2,000 are expected to become eligible by the end of 2026, according to a media release from Assistant Minister Andrew Leigh. The first suburbs released are Holt, Griffith and Narrabundah. Construction has begun on more than 38,000 ACT premises served by fibre to the node.
Region Canberra reported that work has run since February across 85 suburbs. The release is the first wave of an investment that would move around 97,000 homes and businesses in the ACT from ageing copper connections to full fibre by 2030. The government expects about 94 per cent of ACT premises to be able to access gigabit speeds by December 2030, roughly double the current proportion.
Greg Thornton, NBN Co's executive general manager for infrastructure planning and delivery, said the program was on track and slightly ahead. He said about 30 directional drills were working through suburbs at any one time. NBN Co releases small areas at a time, he said, to shorten the gap between disturbance and customers being able to order, and the 2030 date is when the program ends rather than when releases begin. Canberra's installs involve backyard aerial cabling plus new infrastructure at the front of properties, he said.
Eligible households receive a letter from NBN Co, then choose a retail service provider, which arranges the final connection inside the home. Thornton said around 64 per cent of fibre-to-the-node customers across Australia cannot get 100 megabits, and the upgrade opens multi-gigabit speeds to them. He also compared restoration times after the Queensland floods, saying some copper areas took up to 57 hours to replace, against 1.5 hours with fibre.
Region Canberra reported that many providers currently require a 100 megabit plan to switch, and Thornton said that would change around March 2027, letting cost-conscious customers migrate at their existing speed. Infinite Networks managing director Anthony Bortolotto said tree roots or garden beds on the cable path could add a couple of weeks to an install. He said that with more than half of Canberra working from home at least part of the week, the upgrade was "long overdue".
Customer Jim Thornton, who moved from a 5G service, said the speed and reliability were now there. Leigh said the typical Canberra household uses over 500 gigabytes a month with 25 connected devices, forecast to reach 44 by 2030.