NBN Co says it has surpassed its fibre connection targets this year. 

In the first 17 weeks alone, NBN Co reports over 300,000 new fibre connections, marking a substantial rise from the 197,000 completions reported at the end of 2023.

Stephen Rue, CEO of NBN Co, says this figure represents customers who have “already ordered and received an upgrade to the NBN full fibre network”. 

The current pace indicates that the company is completing around 6,050 installations per week, aligning with Rue's earlier projections about the company's capability.

The fibre connect program is designed primarily for customers currently on fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) or fibre-to-the-curb (FTTC) connections. 

These upgrades require customers to order a specific tier of retail service and maintain it for at least 12 months. 

Rue says that the upgrades are generally initiated when customers opt for eligible higher speed plans. However, in a push to improve service quality, NBN Co is also upgrading some FTTN connections without these conditions. 

This initiative targets around 200,000 FTTN customers suffering from substandard service quality, including speeds below 50 Mbps or frequent dropouts. 

Rue has described this infrastructure as a “CX irritant”, saying the company is committed to enhancing customer experience through reliable fibre connections.

Rue has detailed a phased approach being employed to manage the upgrade process, which is carefully coordinated to match the availability of technicians and keep up with escalating demand. 

“Approximately 85,000 of those identified households are now available to upgrade to full fibre with no requirement on customers to upgrade to a higher speed tier, and we expect another 35,000 households to become available in the coming weeks,” he said.

Additionally, NBN Co is experimenting with providing fibre connections to premises that have never been connected to the NBN network before. The results of this small-scale trial are awaited.

In conjunction with these operational updates, NBN Co has released its pricing roadmap for the next three years, showing incremental price increases tied to inflation. 

This strategy is part of a broader plan approved by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), following extensive consultations with internet retailers and consumer advocacy groups. 

The company claims the revised prices aim to balance the need for further network investment with the necessity of offering affordable and reliable service across diverse consumer segments.

“We understand that any price change can be a concern for customers, particularly considering current cost of living pressures,” said Chief Customer Officer Anna Perrin.