Australia’s National Broadband Network (NBN) is the gift that keeps on taking.
Thanks, in significant part, to a bungled rollout of what should’ve been world-leading national internet infrastructure, we have now been blessed with the ability to find out how much it costs to get what should have been in the first place.
NBN Co, the company behind the implementation of the NBN, has recently added a section to its website where you can find out how much an upgrade to fibre to the premises (FTTP) would cost for your location.
One of the Byteside team members filled out the form and found out it would cost them…
Oh.
$27,770 AUD. That’s a fair chunk of dough. How much do you really want that fast internet? And that’s to upgrade from a node that’s just a few doors from their house.
FTTP would certainly provide some quick speeds, that’s for sure. The type of internet connection people have right now varies greatly depending on location.
For example, in suburban Adelaide I have a fibre to the node (FTTN) connection, where a fibre optic cable runs from your nearest telephone exchange to a node, those big boxy cabinet-looking things on the street. From there, the pre-existing copper line connects the node to your place.
In comparison, FTTP provides optic fibre cable direct from the exchange to your location, never touching 20th Century copper cables at any point to slow you down.
It’s almost as if fibre is the better solution and should’ve been the plan all along?
According to iTnews, various quotes made through the NBN website have varied between $2,000 and upwards of $20,000 AUD for the FTTP upgrade. One quote shared with us via Twitter was for $44,750 in a central part of Brisbane.
One can’t help wonder if maybe there’s a random number generator lurking behind the quote page.
Anyway, if you do have a cool $20k lying around in your spare investment property, you can discover an alternate reality where Australia got broadband right the first time.
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Chris is an award-nominated writer based in Adelaide who specialises in covering video games and technology. He loves Donkey Kong Country, sport, and cats. The Last Jedi is the best one, no questions asked.
