In a bid to get more Australians onto a full fibre internet connection, NBN Co is scrapping the high-speed requirement for premises on Fibre to the Curb (FTTC) connections.
Most existing FTTC customers are only eligible for an upgrade to Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) when ordering a high-speed plan, like NBN 100 or above. From July 2026, NBN Co will remove that requirement, paving the way for more fibre connections.
According to NBN Co, roughly 600,000 homes currently serviced by FTTC connections will be eligible for an FTTP upgrade without needing to order a faster internet plan. More than five million Australians are connected to NBN services with download speeds of 50Mbps or less. Under the relaxed upgrade path from next year, they’ll be able to keep their existing, often cheaper, plan, while benefitting from full fibre connectivity.
Reliability is a main factor behind NBN Co’s decision. FTTC uses a combination of fibre and copper technologies, which is more prone to outages than solely using fibre cable. NBN Co’s announcement of the relaxed requirements cited FTTC’s “higher fault rates” compared to FTTP and Fibre to the Node (FTTN).
“A big part of our combined effort is centred on our strategy to accelerate the removal of copper from the NBN network,” said Bec Heap, Executive General Manager Products and Pricing at NBN Co. “Full fibre connections are faster, more reliable, and less susceptible to faults and outages.”
A fibre connection also provides the option of upgrading to faster internet plans. In September, NBN Co increased the wholesale speeds of multiple high-speed plans, which start from 500Mbps, without increasing the cost to retailers.
But if customers remain on their existing speeds, they should still encounter fewer outages and less downtime.
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