Getting connected to the NBN can be a daunting time. You'll come up against complicated jargon and strange acronyms, but there's good news. The info you actually need to know is simpler than you think. We're here to help, and the first thing you should be aware of is this:
You can’t choose how your NBN is connected, it’s dependent on where you live and the infrastructure that is being built in your area.
Even though there are seven NBN connection types, your house can only connect in one way and we’re betting that you’re reading this because you've got (or will have) an HFC connection.
What is HFC NBN?
The simple explanation: HFC is a technology that will connect Australians in predominantly metro areas to the NBN. It's based on the same tech used to get Foxtel into homes.
The technical explanation: HFC is short for Hybrid Fibre Coaxial, and is typically used to connect properties to the NBN where an existing pay TV (Foxtel) or cable network (Telstra or Optus) is available.
In this guide we’ll explain what HFC NBN is, how to a pick plan that is best for you and and what you’ll need to get online.
- How fast is HFC NBN?
- How much does HFC NBN cost?
- How does HFC NBN work?
- What equipment will I need for HFC NBN?
- HFC NBN FAQs
How fast is HFC NBN?
If you've got an HFC NBN connection, you're able to get download speeds of up to 100Mbps and upload speeds of up to 40Mbps. When you sign up for a NBN HFC connection, you'll have to pick from one of four different speed tiers: NBN 12 (Basic) speed, NBN 25 (Standard) speed, NBN 50 (Standard Plus) speed or NBN 100 (Premium) speed.
NBN speeds
| Tier | Maximum speed | Typical evening speed |
| Basic (NBN 12) | 12Mbps | 7Mbps |
| Standard (NBN 25) | 25Mbps | 15Mbps |
| Standard Plus (NBN 50) | 50Mbps | 30Mbps |
| Premium (NBN 100) | 100Mbps | 60Mbps |
The speeds in the table above are the maximum speeds you can get on these plans. And with a HFC connection, you have a decent chance of achieving speeds close to these because of the reliability of the cables used as part of the network. Speeds don't deteriorate based on your distance from the NBN "node" in your area.
However, the actual speeds you get at home will still be dependent on:
- The NBN plan and provider you subscribe with.
- Congestion during peak hours (this is what is meant by 'evening speeds').
It's also important to note that your NBN speed is a shared resource. If you subscribe to an NBN 50 plan, your 50Mbps is shared between every person and device in your household.
For example, if you're streaming a movie on Netflix, the internet will be slower for everyone else using your connection at the same time. Faster NBN speeds mean there's more capacity to share: you can stream all the video you want and no one else will notice any slow-down.
How much does an HFC NBN plan cost?
The cost of your will vary based on the speed you want and the provider you go with. The price of NBN plans is always changing, but you can expect to pay somewhere between $60 and $100 per month for your connection.
To choose your plan, we suggest using this formula:
Then you just need to decide which provider has the best value package for your current situation.
Best value: NBN Standard Plus (NBN 50)
Selected from plans listed in the WhistleOut search engine.
Maximum Speed: 50Mbps
Typical Evening Speed: 30Mbps
What to expect: NBN 50 plans are a good option for families. You'll have enough speed to ensure everyone can use the internet at the same time, without any fights breaking out over how long YouTube is taking to buffer.
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Tangerine Telecom 
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Internode 
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SpinTel 
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Link not supplied
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Belong 
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MATE 
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Link not supplied
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MyRepublic 
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Best for internet lovers: NBN Premium (NBN 100)
Selected from plans listed in the WhistleOut search engine.
Maximum Speed: 100Mbps
Typical Evening Speed: 60Mbps
What to expect: NBN 100 plans are the best bet for large households and anyone who regularly downloads or uploads large files. Games will download at breakneck speed and everyone from the kids to grandma can binge different shows on Netflix, all at the same time.
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Tangerine Telecom
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Vodafone 
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Link not supplied
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Kogan Internet 
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MATE
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Link not supplied
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Superloop 
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Link not supplied
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SpinTel
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Link not supplied
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Best for moderate budgets: NBN Standard (NBN 25)
Selected from plans listed in the WhistleOut search engine.
Maximum Speed: 25Mbps
Typical Evening Speed: 15Mbps
What to expect: NBN 25 plans are better suited to one or two person households. There's not much you can do online that needs a faster speed than NBN 25, but you may notice slower speeds if multiple people are using your connection at once.
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Tangerine Telecom
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Belong
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SpinTel
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Link not supplied
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Kogan Internet
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Superloop
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Link not supplied
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Southern Phone 
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Best for tight budgets: NBN Basic (NBN 12)
Selected from plans listed in the WhistleOut search engine.
Maximum Speed: 12Mbps
Typical Evening Speed: 7Mbps
What to expect: NBN 12 plans are best for basic internet usage, such as web browsing, email, and social media. You can still stream HD video through Netflix and YouTube, but you won't be able to do much else with your connection at the same time.
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MATE
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Link not supplied
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TPG 
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iiNet 
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Westnet 
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Link not supplied
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Southern Phone
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Need more help choosing an NBN plan?
If you want to dig even deeper, you can read more about NBN providers here or start searching for your perfect NBN plan here.
How does HFC NBN work?
HFC is short for Hybrid Fibre-Coaxial, but you probably know of it as 'cable'. Cable internet plans have been available from Telstra and Optus for years, and cable is also used to connect your home to Pay TV services like Foxtel.
In fact, if your home is due for a HFC NBN connection, it's likely because you already have cable in your neighbourhood; you may even have a cable internet connection already.
The National Broadband Network is made up of fibre optic cables that run out across the country from major hubs and into your general area. These cables are capable of delivering incredibly fast and reliable internet.
As you can see in the image above:
- The NBN hubs (known as Points of Interconnect) connect fibre optic cable to a smaller connection point (known as a Node) near your home
- Coaxial cable then connects the Node to your house
What equipment do I need for an HFC NBN connection?
When you connect to the National Broadband Network through Hybrid Fibre Coaxial, you'll end up with an NBN Utility Box on the outside of your house, and an NBN Connection Box inside (pictured below). All of this equipment will be provided by the NBN for free.
The NBN Utility Box is installed by NBN Co when the network is being built in your area, while the NBN Connection Box will arrive when you're ready to get connected.
The NBN Connection Box plugs into a coaxial outlet on your wall (using a supplied coaxial cable), and essentially acts as a modem. It's the device that connects your house to the internet.
You'll then need to connect a wireless router to the Connection Box (using an Ethernet cable) to get all of your other devices online. If you sign up for an extended internet contract (often between six and 24 months), your telco will include a compatible router with your plan. If you go month-to-month, you'll typical have to pay extra for your router (if you don't already have a compatible device).
Once your router is set up, you can connect an NBN compatible VoIP phone to it if you want to use landline services.
You'll need two spare power outlets in the room where you want to set everything up: one for the NBN Connection Box, and one for your wireless router.
If you're connecting to the NBN over HFC and also have a pay TV service like Foxtel, your setup will be slightly different. Since you only have one coaxial wall outlet, you'll use a splitter to divide the connection; this will let you run one cable to your TV or set-top box, and another to your NBN Connection Box.
NBN Co will provide you with this splitter.
Foxtel is however in the process of transition most of its customers on a traditional cable service over to its satellite pay TV service.
HFC NBN FAQs
According to NBN Co's 2019 corporate plan, up to 2 million Australian premises (23%) will be connected to the National Broadband Network via Hybrid Fibre Coaxial.
While HFC is based on Telstra's cable network, existing cable customers who get moved onto the HFC National Broadband Network will benefit from much faster upload speeds. On a top-tier plan, HFC customers can able to upload at 40Mbps, whereas pre-NBN cable speeds were as low as 2Mbps.
NBN Co is also promising more capacity, which should reduce network congestion in peak times. This will however depend on where you live, your provider and the amount of capacity they purchase.
DOCSIS 3.1 is new technology that increases the speeds of existing HFC networks by transmitting data more efficiently. This will allow NBN resellers to provide services as fast as 1Gbps in the future, ten times faster than the fastest speeds currently available on the NBN.
Under the Coalition Government's MTM rollout, Optus' cable network was also going to be used as a basis for the Hybrid Fibre Coaxial portion of the National Broadband Network. In fact, NBN bought the Optus HFC network for $800 million before deciding that it needed to decommission the ageing equipment.
Leaked NBN documents published by Fairfax revealed internal concerns about the quality of Optus' network, describing it as "not fully fit for purpose". The documents suggested that some Optus equipment had reached the end of its life and would need replacing, and that network was congested due to over-subscription.
Instead, NBN is using FTTC (Fibre-to-the-Curb) technology (previously referred to as FTTdp) for as many as 700,000 premises originally due to connect to the National Broadband Network using Optus' HFC.
"HFC remains a highly valued part of our MTM deployment," said NBN Co Chief Network Engineering Officer, Peter Ryan, "however in balancing the requirements to convert Optus’ current network architecture and design to be NBN ready, and the opportunity to introduce FTTdp, makes the new technology compelling in these selected areas."
FTTC can almost be described as a hybrid of Fibre-to-the-Premise and Fibre-to-the-Node. Rather than taking fibre to a central node in a neighbourhood, fibre is laid directly to a property's kerb. The final connection is made with copper. This facilitate faster download speeds of up to 500Mbps, and should also make it cheaper to get fibre laid directly to your home, if you want to upgrade down the line.
When you're connected to the NBN, landline phone and internet services won't work if there is a power outage at your place or within the network itself. Restoring power to your premises with an alternative power option won't do anything in the NBN network is also experiencing an outage.
NBN will eventually phase out the old copper phone services we use today, and replace them with similar services delivered by the internet. Home phones will connect to 'UNI-D' phone services, provided by your internet supplier.
Here's how it will work: you will plug your handset into the UNI-D port on a VoIP compatible modem-router – which your provider will be able to send to you. You might also connect with a VoIP adaptor connected to your existing telephone socket or an ATA (analogue telephone adaptor) connected to your NBN Connection Box.
Be aware that UNI-D does not allow for emergency power back-up in the case of a black-out. If the power in your home, building or neighbourhood goes down, so will your phone line. You will also lose landline connectivity if the NBN goes down. For this reason, if you don't already have a mobile phone, we recommend that you keep one charged in your home in case of an emergency.
Fortunately, these days there are plenty of affordable mobile handsets and plans around, offering options to get as much or as little calling credit as you think you might need. You can get a mobile plan as an alternative to VoIP. Or you can get a prepaid mobile with long credit expiry to use as an emergency back-up in case of power or internet outage.
While all NBN providers resell access to the same network, maximum speeds during peak hours can vary between providers. As such, some providers have started advertising the speeds you can expect during peak hours. These are known as 'typical evening speeds'.
If you'd prefer to avoid a long-term contract, many providers now offer month-to-month plans. However, signing up for a month-to-month plan often means paying for setup and/or hardware, which telcos tend to waive when you commit to a longer term contract. There are still contract-free NBN plans without setup fees available.
Want more information about the NBN?
Got questions? We've got answers. Whether you want to know what the NBN is, how to connect, if you have to connect, how much it will cost, what the alternatives are, or something else entirely, check out our complete guide to the NBN.
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