back to article nbn™ to offer 100Mbps fixed wireless service

nbn™, the entity building and operating Australia's national broadband network (NBN), has announced it will launch a 100Mbps fixed wireless service in 2018. Demonstrated to The Register at a trial site in Ballarat today, the service will require subscribers to update their aerial and modem. Hitting 100Mbps for downloads, and …

  1. Phil Kingston

    I do have to wonder whether that would be a better option than the dog's dinner that is FTTN in many places.

    1. Michael Hoffmann Silver badge

      Talk to the people who have and are having major congestion issues, due to too many RSPs still doing the "unlimited" thing without backing that with enough CVCs. There's a couple or so that don't - AussieBB, IIRC and have less issues if you manage to be on-net.

      However, another unmentioned issue: the current generation of issues antennas are/were had two versions: 1 only supported 50mbps aggregate, and 2 went up to 75 mbps. So, will they upgrade those (for free)? Ensure that all new installations get one capable of 100 mbps (V3?)?

    2. Adam 1

      Wireless is shared bandwidth. So whilst you may get 100Mbps standing under the tower at 3am, you can forget anything approaching that on Saturday night when everyone presses play on their Netflix HD streams. The only way to ease congestion is to pop up more towers and reduce the broadcast strength of each and thereby reducing contention.

    3. Al Black

      FTTN

      This is FTTN, with wireless to the user.

  2. Jack999

    100Mbps funny joke

    I'm on NBN fixed wireless (just out of Ballarat), and they cant even manage 25 Mbps.

    I have tried 3 different providers, and while I might get 20Mbps (on a 25Mbps service) offpeak - during peak times I'm lucky to get 5-7Mbps

    I don't know if the backhaul is saturated or if the base station cant keep up, but having tried a number of providers and experiencing the same issue - I'm blaming NBN not the ISPs.

    1. Robert Heffernan

      Re: 100Mbps funny joke

      Working in the IT service department of a telco who provides NBN service, it is my understanding that when a Fixed Wireless site is deployed it gets a basic allocation of bandwidth by NBN Co. Its not until enough customers on that site start to complain about poor performance that they come back afterwards and tune the bandwidth allocation.

      So, it doesn't matter how many different ISPs you try, it's NBN Co and the FW Site that are the issue. Your only recourse is to complain loudly and often, and get as many people in your area on the same FW service to do the same.

  3. aberglas

    I just want to keep my 3mbs ADSL

    Fixed wireless in my area has been delayed indefinitely because apparently some people think that the radiation will kill the koalas. It is in court at the moment, been there for a long time.

    They need to cut the copper, politically. So if they cannot do fixed wireless, they threaten Satellite!

    I don't need 100mbs. Don't need 25mbs. Don't even need 12mbs. 5mbs would be nice, but 3 will do. But I do need that 3. Which is plenty to do development with. And without huge latency.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Smart Country?

    Here is an idea for the government, if you're going to build a backbone/information highway so as to help a country become 'smart' and innovative, its probably best to build the highway with equal bandwidth for downloads and UPLOADS, you know so as to help that 'innovation' actually flow.

    We're still stuck with 40mbs uploads and protection of Teleco special interests.

    Are we a buliding for a 'smart' country or for a country that just wants to suck down netflix quicker?

    1. poopypants

      Re: Smart Country?

      The latter. Because that's what the vast majority of voters care about.

  5. Denarius Silver badge
    FAIL

    Who needs the F35 ?

    when you have supersonic pigs going overhead...

    Given the arrogant pr**ks response to my request for access to fixed wireless I was told that being 1 Km outside defined users are meant use satellite. Yeah, the one two months old or less and already overloaded, which as anyone who did back of envelop calculations could tell was going to happen just to catch up to previous satellite demand. When I offered to buy or build my own high gain antennae, same response. So as usual, if one is 4 km from town site , maybe fine. Otherwise hope that two major telcos exorbitant fees and crappy service actually work a bit more reliably.

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