The benefits of NBN for the business centre around mitigating the slow internet speeds that have hindered Australian businesses for years. Slow speeds equal a disrupted ability to connect with customers and clients, as well as potential customers and clients alike. This reduces productivity and can make your business seem unreliable. In fact, a few years ago Australia was ranked 48th in the world behind countries such as Slovakia and Malta.

To solve this problem (and others!), the Australian government is rolling out the National Broadband Network (NBN). This is Australia’s first national, open-access communications network. It lays the foundation for a more connected, efficient country and business internet environment. Faster internet speed comes many benefits for businesses. NBN Co, the organisation rolling out the NBN and created by the Federal Government, will distribute the service to all Australians by 2020.

Here are what we consider to be the top 10 benefits of NBN for business to improve productivity and connectivity:

1. NBN promotes the next generation of the internet

The NBN is not content to just offer the legacy broadband service to new users. Rather, the company is providing benefits of NBN for businesses through the latest technology that will help business owners leapfrog to the next generation. Using a MTM (Multi Technology Mix) to connect your business to the internet, means a variety of diverse locations can be connected depending on your location.

These seven technologies make the NBN a serious Multi-Technology Mix (MTM), and are: Fibre to the Premises (FTTP), Fibre to the Building (FTTB), Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC), Fibre to the Curb (FTTC), Fibre to the Node (FTTN), Fixed Wireless, and Sky Muster satellite. The latter two are mostly used in regional and remote areas, in locations where premises are very geographically spread out. No matter which connection suits your location best, once you’re connected to the NBN you can expect fantastic business benefits from the reliable, high-capacity broadband network.

Benefits of NBN for business

2. NBN establishes and fosters national and global connections

As of October 2019, there are 6.2 million businesses and homes connected to the NBN of the 10.3 million that are able to connect. The current plan is to have 8 million homes and businesses actively connected by 2020. If your business hasn’t been connected to the NBN yet, you can check the status of NBN rolling out in your area on the Business NBN page.

From these connections, faster B2B and B2C connections can be established across the globe. Today, businesses heavily rely on VoIP (voice over IP) for communication via internet calls, teleconferencing, etc. It’s no secret just how important internet speed, reliability, and overall performance is.

3. NBN ensures super-fast speeds

The crux of why NBN is so sought after for businesses comes down to increased speed equaling higher productivity. With a maximum download speed of up to 100Mbps, NBN speeds can be four times faster than ADSL2+ speeds, which just have download speeds up to 24Mbps. From employees being able to quickly complete daily tasks, like attach a large image to an email, to being able to quickly start video calls to different parts of the world, internet speed is everything. The speed NBN offers makes life as a business owner or employee so much easier. Say goodbye to buffering and disconnections, which are not ideal when you’re engaging with a client!

This also means better collaboration and file sharing between employees within their teams. More people can work within a document and take advantage of screen-sharing programs. The network will be hundreds―or even thousands―times faster than the dial-up technology that it will be replacing (in some rural areas). The speeds range from 12/1 Mbps, 25/5 Mbps, 50/20 Mbps, to 100/40 Mbps. To get an idea of the kind of speed we’re talking about, you could download a feature film from the internet in seconds or a minute.

Benefits of NBN for business

4. NBN helps your online presence

If you have a small business, you’ll know that online promotion is everything. You need people to be able to find you. If they can’t do that it doesn’t matter how good your products or services are. A good website will do two things: appeal to new customers and continue to stay relevant and reachable to current customers. This goes beyond your website, to social media and email campaigns. All of these benefit from reliable, quick internet.

Thanks to the age of the internet, we are seeing businesses sprout up from all over the country. This is true even in remote areas, which is great for both individuals and the economy. NBN can further excel the growth of remote businesses, with reliable, quick, and more functional internet fostering digital growth. With an increased awareness of an online store, comes more customer interactions. This could have been difficult to accommodate with previous broadband, but now NBN has the bandwidth to support it. Previously, slow internet was a detriment to remote businesses. It affected how responsive they could be on websites, forums, and socials.

5. NBN has tools to determine when you are connected

To determine when you can become connected to the NBN access network, simply follow this NBN website link. Then add your business or home address into the search bar and wait for the result to show if and when you will be connected to NBN. Alternatively, there’s an NBN rollout map, which is updated weekly, where you can see:

  • Services available (you’re able to order plans over the nbn network from a phone or internet service provider).
  • Build commenced (nbn has issued contract instructions to construction partners so they can commence work in this area).
  • Other fibre provider (premises can already access fast broadband services through an existing network).

6. NBN has a large number of Points of Interconnect (POI)

The Point of Interconnect is the crucial link between the NBN network and Broadband. The original plan for the NBN called for only 14 POIs. However, this would result in lower speeds, less connectivity, and more friction in the network. Instead, the number was expanded to 121 POIs. This means Australia can expect continuous uptime, reliability, speed, and connectivity. These Australia-wide POIs are situated in telephone exchange buildings (though not every exchange will have one) and have the following state-by-state distribution:

  • NSW: 41
  • VIC: 30
  • QLD: 22
  • WA: 14
  • SA: 9
  • TAS: 2
  • ACT: 2
  • NT: 1

If you’d like to know what POI establishes your connection for nbn, you can easily do so via the NBN POI Check.

NBN POI - Benefits of NBN for business

7. NBN has a wholesale open-access data network

The NBN is also creating an open data network that allows free exchange of information. Data sources will mostly be comprised of crowd-sourced information and public sites. These will help to lower data gathering costs for companies and improve productivity.

Recently, NBN Co confirmed new wholesale discounts and annual data capacity increase to meet customer demand. The NBN Co Wholesale Pricing Review 2019 showed a commitment to Australian’s tech needs through significant wholesale bundle discounts. There was also support for RSPs (retail service providers) being able to share any unused data from their contract across all their geographic areas associated with the 121 POIs.

8. NBN is the largest infrastructure project in Australian history

The NBN is enormous― it’s the largest single infrastructure program in the history of Australia. In particular, the replacement of the copper wires (which are deteriorating and out of date) with modern broadband optical fibre cables is a huge task. By the end of 2018, the initial estimated cost of $15 billion for a fast broadband initiative in 2007 reached an estimated cost of $51 billion. Crucial telecommunications stakeholders―Optus, iiNet, Internode, and Vodaphone-Hutchison―expressed lots of support for the NBN project. As did the Australia Internet Industry Association (now represented by Communications Alliance), who said that optical fibre solutions are a critical part of the evolution of the internet.

While the government originally wanted to place uniform prices for connectivity, the Abbot government eventually decided to offer differentiation based on the location and the amount of service required. Generally, companies and consumers in remote locations pay more for services. However, they will still be paying less than the old rates in remote areas, so everyone still benefits. However, the burden for all of the rural regions is not born by individuals in more populated regions. This disparity is somewhat made up by the different taxes paid by people with different incomes.

Benefits of NBN for business

9. NBN is dedicated in supporting businesses

When it comes to NBN activation or support, there are substantial differences between servicing residential properties and businesses. Here, we’re interested in the latter. Supporting technology location and the need for coordination between parties for installations or fault rectifications are two complexities involved during NBN business support. To make this as easy and smooth as possible, a dedicated 24-7 operations centre was set up in Melbourne in 2018. This handles business connections and fault fixes, with end-to-end case management for incidents with service providers. The result? A responsive, streamlined point-of-contact for businesses so that they can have their needs addressed quickly.

10. NBN offers retail service providers (RSPs) interface with consumers

Dealing with a government-owned organisation like the NBN is often time consuming and unfriendly. For that reason, the NBN is partnering with various RSP to interface with business and individual consumers directly. They may add additional services with premium pricing as well. RSPs generally provide better customer service, more expertise and faster response times than the NBN.

There’s also a discount bundle for RSPs so that they can have greater certainty on wholesale prices and data capacity inclusions into the future.

“Across most of our discount bundles we’re introducing significant improvements, which will allow RSPs to provide their customers with greater choice and even more affordable retail broadband products.”

Chief Customer Officer Residential at NBN Co, Brad Whitcomb

Benefits of NBN for business summed up

Predictions from research commissioned by NBN and conducted by AlphaBeta indicate that, once the rollout is completed, countless NBN benefits for business will ensue. These include prompt business opportunities, job creation, enhanced business productivity, and a boost in Australia’s GDP (total monetary or market value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country’s borders in a specific time period) by up to $10.4 billion. Known as the business of growth, NBN is projected to have contributed to the creation of 148,000 Australian jobs.

Benefits of NBN for business

Is your business ready to take advantage of the benefits of NBN for bsuiness? Stanfield IT is one of the leading IT consulting and advisory firms in for network services in Australia.