NBN Co intends to roll out a service for property developers to provide new equipment that will allow a connection to NBN even in demanding outdoor locations. This is under the planned Smart Places product offering wherein property developers will be allowed to place orders for the construction of this infrastructure. The construction will then be a part of projects that are set to commence after the first month of 2023.

The Smart Places program will include miniaturised, ruggedised, and reverse-powered network connection devices. All of these devices are expected to pave the way for the delivery of NBN connectivity to locations that cannot be supported using standard equipment. 

Included in the NBN Co's list of communities to be serviced are street furniture and playground lighting as well as parking management, electric vehicle charge stations, air quality monitoring, and environmental monitoring. Currently, the Smart Places pilot program is already running at 35 locations nationwide. Some of the communities that benefit from the program include public parks and skate parks, as well as infrastructure such as traffic lights, electric vehicle charging stations, and water infrastructure.

Andrew Walsh, NBN Co executive general manager for new developments, said that even if the service is still being under consultation with the industry, it is already expected to deliver significant value to property developers.

“Developers have told us they want broadband infrastructure partners who save or make them money, are easy to build and work with, deliver reliably to their schedules, and add value to their projects. So, that’s exactly what we are working to deliver,” he said.

“We want to provide a product that delivers now and for the future, a product that we build once, build right and build at the right price, a product that adds real and enduring value to the developer and their customers, the buyers, and renters.”

One of the pilot Smart Places projects involves collaboration with OneWiFi & Infrastructure as well as property developer Peet. According to Peet Limited Googong Development Manager, the partnership between NBN Co, Googong, OneWiFi & Infrastructure, and the Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council has been “incredibly productive.”

“Developing a township of 18,000 people is complex by nature given the multitude of moving pieces and scale of our plans. NBN Co has been quick to anticipate issues before they happened and addressing them when they arose,” he said.

“Googong... is home to infrastructure for electric cars, digital-enabled waste and facilities management systems, and lighting and environmental monitoring systems. This smart technology is critical to Googong which is the first development in Australia to roll out smart-city infrastructure on such a scale. It means we need partners like NBN and OneWiFi to ensure we can meet our community’s needs.”