The NBN has finally come closer to our part of the world and recently the National Broadband Network (NBN) Fixed Wireless network construction has started in Blyth, just west of the Clare Valley.
Today (24/10/14) the tower was erected at the site on Benbournie Road with further work to be carried out to connect the tower to the rest of the network.
What does NBN FW mean to you?
If you are located within the coverage area on the map you can expect speeds near 25/5Mbps from an NBN FW connection. That is 25Megabits per second download and 5 Megabits per second upload.
To put this in perspective, the best possible ADSL2+ connection is 25/1Mbps or 25/2Mbps if Annex M is available and the average Australian internet speed is currently 6Mbps and rapidly increasing as the NBN slowly rolls out around Australia.
Coverage from NBN FW towers is up to a 15Km radius, depending on factors such as hills and trees. In general, your location must have line of sight to the NBN tower for a connection to be possible. Please check NBNCo for the latest details.
There are generally three considerations when choosing a broadband service; speed, quota and price. For those living outside the reach of fixed line internet the choices have generally been limited to mobile broadband or satellite.
Mobile broadband may function ok but is expensive and has a small quota. Satellite has high latency – the time that the signal takes to return a response – due to the distance from the satellite to the Earth in geostationary orbit which provides poor performance for interactive tasks. Satellite is also limited in quota allocation.
What is NBN FW and why is it better than mobile broadband?
NBN FW provides a point to point wireless link between the tower and your home or business. Because the connections are fixed, adequate resources can be provisioned to ensure connection quality.
Mobile broadband is a best effort solution provided over the mobile phone network. Quality varies as the number of uses changes leading to slowdowns.
Apart from consistent speeds, NBN Fixed Wireless offers large quota at a reasonable price. Comparing BigPond 3G/4G plans that common for those in the area without fixed line internet, with 15GB per month costing $115 before discounts.
Comparing with Aussie Broadband NBN FW plans, $100 buys you 1000GB per month! (You might like to start at $50 for 75GB and see what your needs are.)
You can explore the Aussie Broadband NBN FW plans here.
How does NAR Design fit in?
NAR Design work with Aussie Broadband to provide business and consumer internet solutions and are authorised resellers of Aussie Broadband products.
We tailor email and productivity solutions including Microsoft Office 365 for business as well as a large range of computers and network hardware and software. See our brands page for our partnerships and recommended brands.
Contact us today to arrange a consultation.