(Image: Corinne Reichert/ZDNet)
Australia's National Broadband Network (NBN company has launched its new fibre-to-the-curb (FttC) network, with the service bringing fibre closer to the home for 1 million premises [1] by installing it in pits at the end of customers' driveways.
Switching the network on in Miranda, New South Wales, on Sunday, NBN said the network is capable of delivering wholesale speeds of 100/40Mbps, which will be made faster to the tune of around 500Mbps upon the launch of G.fast technology[2] by the end of 2018.
"Fibre to the curb is the latest technology to be used in the NBN rollout, and over the next few years, 1 million premises around the country will be connected to high-speed broadband using FttC," Communications Minister Mitch Fifield said on Sunday.
"FttC can deliver the same 100Mbps speeds as fibre to the premise (FttP) technology but at lower cost, in much less time and with far less disruption to people's property."
Around 1,000 premises in Miranda and Coburg, Victoria, can now order an FttC service from their retail service provider (RSP) ahead of a larger footprint release in the second half of this year.
"We will continue to gain insights as we navigate the complexity of the build as well as potential issues which can arise when people connect to the network," NBN chief customer officer Brad Whitcomb explained.
"We are committed to working with internet providers to optimise the customer experience of people who connect the network using the NBN FttC access technology before we make services available to a larger footprint."
According to Australian telecommunications technology company NetComm Wireless, its new FttC network connection device[3]