If you've been wondering when you might finally get access to internet speeds well beyond NBN 100, good news -- your gigabit NBN dream is getting even closer.
According to IT News, NBN Co has updated their official product roadmap to include a note on "consultation of home superfast and home ultrafast tiers for FTTC". The consultation process would run from March to April, further opening the door for those on fibre to the curb (FTTC) connections to access NBN 250 and NBN 1000 plans.
© Provided by Kotaku AustraliaImage: NBN Co
NBN Co has previously spoken about wanting to introduce gigabit plans to FTTC customers sometime in 2021, although the company reasonably (given the impact of COVID) warned that the deadline could be pushed back.
The idea behind the consultation with industry is to identify the practicality of enabling plans beyond NBN 100 on FTTC connections, as well as potential demand. For an FTTC user to access those speeds, the distribution point units connecting those users have to be upgraded to the G.fast DSL standard. It's not clear how much of the FTTC network has been upgraded to the G.Fast technology at the time of writing, however.
NBN Co has also earmarked some money to upgrade a small portion of FTTC connections -- about $100 million worth -- t0 full fibre to the premises. Out of the 7.3 million Australians already connected to the NBN, according to NBN Co's latest corporate plan, around 1.4 million households were connected via FTTC.
We'll keep you posted as to when gigabit offerings become more available. Once you do get access to gigabit NBN, however, you'll want to have a look at what's actually available. Below you'll see a round-up of all the current NBN 1000 offerings, with Aussie Broadband and Superloop's deals looking especially good.