Fixed Wireless NBN trial sees evening speeds hit 90Mbps

Alex Choros - Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor

Last updated 28 March 2024

Fixed Wireless Plus NBN customers have seen their typical evening speeds jump as high as 90Mps as part of a national trial ahead of network upgrades that will allow these speeds for all customers.

As part of the trial, NBN Co has been over-provisioning speeds for select Fixed Wireless Plus plan customers. This has seen typical evening speeds lift from between 60Mbps and 70Mbps to between 80Mbps and 90Mbps. Speeds during less busy parts of the day have exceeded 100Mbps.

All homes in the Fixed Wireless NBN footprint will be able to access these speeds by the middle of 2024, pending further trial outcomes and consultation. Customers already on a Fixed Wireless Plus plan will automatically be bumped to these speeds, but some with older Wireless Network Terminating Devices (WNTD) - the antenna that connects to the Fixed Wireless network - will need a hardware upgrade.

Customers with a WNTD 2 - a diamond-shaped antenna - will need an upgrade to the latest model. This will be provided to customers automatically if they order a high-speed Fixed Wireless plan.

In addition to faster speeds on Fixed Wireless Plus plans, NBN Co is introducing two new faster Fixed Wireless plans: a 200Mbps option, and a 400Mbps option. The 200Mbp plan will be available to 90% of the Fixed Wireless footprint, and the 400Mbps option to 80%.

These new speed tiers are set to be available from mid-2024, and customers ordering them will be provided with new WNTDs if necessary.

As part of these upgrades, all 2,362 Fixed Wireless NBN towers will be upgraded. NBN Co says it's approaching the halfway point in terms of the physical work, and the upgrades should be finished by the end of the year.

In addition, NBN Co has decided to defer its new Fixed Wireless fair use policy. This policy would have seen customers who exceed 400GB per calendar month have their speeds limited for certain activities. The new policy was meant to come into effect by the middle of this year, but has now been pushed back to 2028.

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Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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