Key Facts Sheet: nbn services

What affects the speed you actually get

The speed tier on your plan is the maximum the connection can carry. The speed you see at a given moment is shaped by a number of things, most of which sit inside your home rather than on the nbn network:

• The nbn technology at your address. Fibre to the premises carries the highest tiers; copper-based technologies may not reach them at all.
• How far your device is from your modem, and what is between them. Walls, floors and metal surfaces all reduce Wi-Fi speed.
• Whether you are on Wi-Fi or plugged in. A cable is almost always faster and steadier.
• How many devices are using the connection at once, and what they are doing.
• The age and quality of your modem, and of any in-home wiring on copper technologies.
• Interference from neighbouring Wi-Fi networks and other household electronics.
• Congestion on the wider internet, and the capacity of the website or service you are using. A slow website is slow for everyone.
• Peak usage across the network between 7pm and 11pm.

If your line cannot reach the speed you bought

On the copper-based nbn technologies, being fibre to the node, fibre to the building and fibre to the curb, the physical line into your address sets a ceiling that is not known until the service is connected and tested. Some addresses cannot reach the higher tiers.

If that turns out to be your address, we will tell you. We will contact you after your service is activated and tested, explain the maximum speed your line can actually carry, and offer you a choice: move to a lower speed tier at that tier's price, or leave without paying a cancellation fee. You will not be charged for a speed your line cannot deliver.

None of our plans has a fixed term, so leaving costs nothing in any case.

Your nbn service will not work in a power failure

This surprises people, and it matters more than almost anything else on this sheet. An nbn connection depends on powered equipment in your home. When the power goes out, your internet and any phone service running over it stop working, including calls to 000.

The one exception is fibre to the premises, where nbn can install a battery backup unit that keeps a connected landline handset working for a limited time. It does not keep your internet running. Battery backup is not available on the other nbn technologies.

If you need to be able to call for help during a blackout, keep a charged mobile phone. We recommend this to every customer regardless of which technology you are on.

Medical alarms, security alarms and other special equipment

Equipment that was designed for the old copper phone network may not work over nbn, and in some cases will fail silently: it looks connected and is not. This applies to:

• Medical alarms and personal emergency response devices
• Monitored security and fire alarms
• Lift emergency phones and EFTPOS terminals
• Fax machines, back-to-base autodialers and some older cordless phones

What to do before you switch, if you rely on one of those

Contact the provider or manufacturer of the device and ask whether it is compatible with nbn, and what they require. Do this before your service is switched over, not after.

nbn maintains a device compatibility register and a medical alarm register at nbnco.com.au. Registering a medical alarm helps make sure it is considered during your connection. Tell us as well, and we will take it into account when we schedule your switch.

If you have any doubt at all about a medical alarm, keep the device on its existing service until its provider confirms it works on nbn.

Home phone and keeping your number

If you have a home phone number you want to keep, tell us before you switch. In most cases a number can move across to an nbn service, but it has to be arranged as part of the transfer, because once an old service is disconnected the number can be lost permanently.

A phone service delivered over nbn plugs into your modem rather than a wall socket, and, as above, it will not work during a power failure.

Installation, equipment and what it costs

What happens at your address depends on whether nbn equipment is already installed. Some addresses are ready to connect and need no visit; others need a technician, and at some addresses new equipment has to be installed inside and outside the building. nbn will tell us which applies once we submit your order, and we will tell you before any work is booked.

You can bring your own modem, or buy one from us. If you bring your own it must be compatible with the nbn technology at your address. We will tell you what it needs to support, and we cannot guarantee the performance of a device we did not supply.

Any installation or hardware charge that applies to your order is shown in full before you pay, and is set out in the Critical Information Summary for the plan you choose.

If something goes wrong

Talk to us first. Most problems are ours to fix and we would rather hear about them early. Our complaints process, including how long each step should take, is published on our website.

If we have not resolved your complaint to your satisfaction, you can take it to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman. The TIO is free for consumers and independent of us.