The NBN is coming to Bundeena with hopes that it will remedy irregular internet services that residents have experienced.
Residents Notified
Bundeena residents received notifications by email and post that construction for the National Broadband Network will be commencing in the area. No specific construction start date was specified but that it would “commence shortly”. The email notice did indicate “you can expect to be able to connect within the next 4 months” however, a lookup on the NBN rollout website indicates July to September 2018.
What’s Being Installed
The construction process could include installing cables through underground pipes or overhead power poles, digging under footpaths or nature strips as wells installing telecommunication pits and other nbn network infrastructure.
The broadband technology expected to be rolled out in Bundeena is known as “fibre to the node” (FTTN). In this scenario fibre optical cables are connected from the telecommunication exchange building located in Cronulla to telecommunication cabinets/nodes (usually green) located on residential streets in Bundeena. The connection between the telco cabinets and residential/commercial premises uses the existing copper wire infrastructure.
Expected Speeds
Current broadband speeds in Bundeena Maianbar vary wildly. Most residents have access to ADSL1 with speeds of up to 8Mbps. Some residents through Telstra’s TopHat infrastructure have access to ADSL2+ speeds of up to 24Mbps. With the NBN FTTN infrastructure theoretical speeds of 50Mbps to 100Mbps can be attained. However, in practice FTTN speeds can vary as well with distance from the node being a factor. For example, a premise located more than 700 metres from the node will only average 25Mbps to 30Mbps.
Getting Connected
Once NBN services are available residents will be notified. They will have up to 18 months to migrate from their existing ADSL based service to the FTTN one. If after 18 months one has not migrated both their ADSL as well as regular telephone service will be disconnected. During the migration period existing services will work as per normal. Residents have the option to migrate to the NBN using their existing telecommunication provider (eg Telstra, Optus, etc) or alternatively they could choose another provider. Residents will need to purchase a NBN compatible modem or may be able to have one bundled in with the NBN plan they sign up for.