NBN Co has completed its Hybrid Fibre Coaxial network upgrade 18 months ahead of its planned rollout schedule. The upgraded network can offer near-gigabit internet speeds.

What makes the move significant is that the HFC footprint covers five major metropolitan areas, allowing retailers to embrace cost-efficient marketing through television and radio knowing that nearly all of the audience can order the service. 

NBN Co told retailers: “We’re excited to announce that all services on the HFC network can now order Home Ultrafast speed tier. Both site qualification and the Check your Address webpage on the website will be updated to show this against all HFC LocIDs.”

In NBN Co's 2022 Corporate Plan, it said: “The HFC upgrade program will provide access to NBN Co’s higher wholesale speed plan, NBN Home Ultrafast, across the full HFC footprint of 2.5 million premises by the end of 2023.”

NBN COO Kathrine Dyer said: “During the last two years, we have accelerated our HFC network enhancement program to meet customers’ increasing demand for faster internet services in homes and business across Australia.”

“In May 2020, around 7% of our HFC network was capable of delivering access to NBN Home Ultrafast, offering wholesale download speeds of 500Mbps to close to 1Gbps. However, we set ourselves a goal to upgrade the entire HFC network to Ultra-fast capability by the end of 2023, and I’m pleased to say that we have achieved that goal far sooner than originally forecast through a lot of hard work, determination, and investment.”

“By February 2022, 100% of the 2.5 million premises in the HFC footprint could access the NBN Home Superfast wholesale speed tier (250Mbps) and 95% of premises in the HFC footprint were able to access the NBN Home Ultrafast (1000Mbps) wholesale speed tier.”

“We recently completed upgrade works to ensure that today, 100% of premises connected to the network via HFC can now order Home Ultrafast services.”

In February 2021, then shadow minister Michelle Rowland said that “Paul Fletcher’s dud HFC network is once again in disarray” in reference to a chip shortage.

However, as new federal communications minister, Rowland recently spoke highly of NBN Co management. 

“I’ve noted how committed the organisation is and its purpose. And they appear to be very driven by principles that are consistent with the government’s – and that’s about driving productivity, making sure that Australians stay connected, so there is a sense of mission that I see there,” she said.