Still haven't upgraded to full fibre NBN? From next year, NBN Co will make it mandatory for some premises | Tech Radar

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Still haven't upgraded to full fibre NBN? From next year, NBN Co will make it mandatory for some premises

Why wait? Upgrade today with these expert-approved plans

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As part of a push to ensure as many Australians as possible are connected to fast, reliable internet, for the last few years NBN Co has been offering homes that currently connect to the fixed-line network via older copper-based technologies – such as fibre to the node (FTTN) and fibre to the curb (FTTC) – the opportunity to upgrade to superior fibre to the premises (FTTP) technology for free.

If you’ve been holding out on enacting the upgrade, then your hand may soon be forced, as NBN Co has announced a new Targeted Upgrade program that it says will require 130,000 specific homes and businesses to upgrade from copper-based services to full-fibre technology. The program is currently scheduled to start midway through 2027.

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NBN Co says the premises identified to receive the upgrade will start being sent official notifications from July 2027. If your home or business is one of those identified for the program, then there’s no real downside to taking it up – optical fibre NBN connections support massively faster speeds and are generally more reliable than older legacy technologies.

What’s more, in the official press release, NBN Co has made it clear that it plans to eventually disconnect all copper services at the premises the program targets, saying “the first suspensions of legacy copper services where a fibre upgrade order has not been placed are not expected to occur until January 2028.”

In short, if you don’t take up the free upgrade to full fibre, then you’ll eventually be left without a fixed-line internet connection. Reminders will be sent at six months before disconnection, three months before and 30 days before. If you ignore all of them, then your service will ultimately be suspended.

NBN Co adds that safeguards will be in place, however, including “the option to extend or defer before a service is suspended, and case‑managed support, particularly for customers who need additional assistance.”

If you know your home currently connects via FTTN or FTTC technology, then now’s a good time to begin preparing for the upgrade. Even if your home isn’t one of the initial 130,000 selected, it likely will be eventually.

Whether you’re on the list or not, if you connect via a legacy copper tech then there’s a good chance your home is already eligible for an upgrade. If what’s holding you back is uncertainty about what provider to pick, I’ve selected a few of my favourite NBN plans below that make the most of the superior full-fibre technology.

In fact, now’s actually a great time to consider switching your NBN provider, as the yearly price hike is also around the corner, and you can almost always find a better deal if you shop around.

I consider Exetel’s One plan to be the best cheap NBN 500 option right now, thanks to its fuss-free billing, useful extra perks and exemplary performance as noted by the ACCC’s quarterly broadband performance data. While some competitors are offering a cheaper price during an introductory period (generally the first 6 months) at a flat

80 per month, Exetel simply offers the best ongoing price right from the start and when you get past any introductory discounts, it’s the only provider with an NBN 500 plan that costs less than AU

1,000 per year.

Kogan Internet Gold Plus | 500 Mbps | AU

71.90p/m (first 12 months, then AU

85.90p/m)

Kogan Internet also has a fantastic NBN 500 plan offer right now, with a 12-month discount providing superb value. You’ll lock the low AU$71.90p/m price in for a full year, thereby avoiding any potential price increases for some time. In fact, this is the most affordable NBN 500 plan over the first 12 months.

• AU

71.90 minimum cost • AU

862.80 first year cost • AU$1,030.80 ongoing yearly cost

Superloop | 860 Mbps TES | AU

85p/m (first 6 months, then AU

109p/m)

Of course, if you really want to take advantage of the capabilities of full-fibre technology, then an NBN 1000 plan is a great option. And this Superloop plan promises 860 Mbps speeds in the busier evening hours, but is theoretically capable of hitting up to 1 Gbps. It’s not the cheapest I admit, but it is a provider you can rely upon for great, reliable and speedy service.

• AU

85 minimum cost • AU

1,164 first year cost • AU$1,308 ongoing yearly cost

Max is a senior staff writer for Tech Radar who covers home entertainment and audio first, NBN second and virtually anything else that falls under the consumer electronics umbrella third. He's also a bit of an ecommerce fiend, particularly when it comes to finding the latest coupon codes for a variety of publications. He has written for Tech Radar's sister publication What Hi-Fi? as well as Pocket-lint, and he's also the editor of Australian Hi-Fi and Audio Esoterica magazines. Max also dabbled in the men's lifestyle publication space, but is now firmly rooted in his first passion of technology.

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Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards