Nothing could be more frustrating than losing access to the internet, especially if you're on the NBN. The National Broadband Network is a government-funded project aiming to provide all Australians access to the most advanced and reliable connection available in Australia. However, circumstances can never really guarantee that.
NBN outages are unavoidable, whether they're caused by bad weather or faulty equipment. The greatest thing we can do is to be patient and inform your NBN service provider about the issue.
To better understand why even sophisticated regions experience NBN outages, we've investigated the various causes and advised consumers on the next actions.
There are a few ways to check whether there is an NBN outage in your area.
First, check and visit the official website of NBN Co. They have a tool that lets you check the service status in your area. Just enter your suburb or postcode and it will show you any outages in the area and you can expect the issue to be fixed.
If you want a more detailed outage report, you can also call your service provider and ask about the current status of the network in your area. This is especially important if you need to use the internet for work or other important tasks.
NBN outages occur for a variety of reasons. The duration will also vary depending on the cause of the outage.
These are some of the most common causes of NBN outages:
Calamities and disasters are the leading causes of these outages. Storms, strong winds, fire, and other natural events are all possible culprits behind the loss of your internet connection and it’s usually because they are very unpredictable.
They may cause damage to the cables and signal poles, leading to the loss of connection in your area. And if this happens, it may take a couple of days to get it repaired by maintenance teams.
The best thing you can do is to keep yourself updated with the latest weather forecast in your area. This way, you can prepare for any possibility of an outage and find an alternative method to get connected online, just in case.
You can also contact your NBN service provider and ask about their contingency plan in case of an NBN outage caused by weather-related events.
Another thing to check is whether your installation was done correctly. A component in your network may not have been set up correctly during the installation process. See if a cable is improperly plugged or if there are loose wirings in the hardware so you can secure them as necessary.
In some cases, you might have to contact technicians so they can check on the problem for you. But what’s good about it is that installation problems are easier to fix than damages caused by calamities.
A spotty internet connection does not necessarily mean there is a widespread outage in your area or household. It could simply be because too many people are connected to the internet at the same time. If this is a problem that you encounter often, you might want to consider upgrading your NBN speed.
| NBN Providers | NBN Plans | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
NBN Unlimited Belong Standard Plus broadband plan on the NBN | $70/Month | See Belong NBN Plans |
 |
NBN Standard Plus (nbn50) Unlimited Dodo broadband plan | $75/month | See Dodo NBN Plans |
 |
NBN The 50 (nbn50) Uniti Wireless NBN Broadband Plan | $79.95/month | See Uniti Wireless NBN Plans |
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NBN 100GB Build your own NBN - Aussie Broadband plan - Standard Plus Speed | $79/month | See Aussie Broadband NBN Plans |
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NBN Optus Internet Everyday NBN Bundle Plan | $79/month | See Optus NBN Plans |
Do you remember the last time you had your hardware updated? Because if you don’t, chances are the outage you are experiencing is caused by out-of-date tech. If the problem is localised, this can be fixed with a simple hardware replacement. But for a widespread outage, it may take a little while to be resolved.
During a service outage, the first thing you must do is contact your NBN service provider. Visit their official outage checker to know the latest status of their service. This will tell you if other customers are affected by the outage or if you’re the only one having problems with your connection.
Telcos usually have their dedicated status pages so it’s easier for customers to know the latest updates in case there is an NBN outage. These pages also help in reducing the number of people calling the telco’s hotline so they can focus on addressing more urgent concerns of customers.
Of course, if your connection is spotty or completely down, you will have to visit these outage checkers through your smartphone and using mobile data.
You can also check your service provider’s social media pages on Facebook or Twitter, as these are frequently updated with announcements for customers.
Here's a quick list of popular telcos' dedicated status pages:
You may also get some insights via crowd-sourced websites like Downdetector®: it offers real-time status and outage information across various services and platforms online, as reported and verified by individual users.
When you see that no further NBN outage persists in your region after checking your telco's status page, this simply indicates that the problem is limited to you. But you don’t have to get on the phone with tech support just yet.
Try restarting your modem first. In some cases, an intermittent internet connection could be caused by a simple glitch in your device. Try turning it off for a couple of minutes and turning it back on in case your connection returns to normal speed.
If restarting your modem does not work, then it’s time to contact tech support.
If you think you’ve tried everything you could to get the connection to return and still didn’t get results, your next best option is to contact your service provider’s tech support team. Doing so would be the quickest way to know what’s causing the problem and what needs to be done to fix it.
However, if there is a widespread outage, keep in mind that it may be difficult to get through the line considering the number of people trying to contact customer support services. But when you do manage to speak with one, explain your situation clearly so they can provide the necessary assistance.
If all else fails, you might have to make do with mobile internet in the meantime. There are plenty of telcos that offer internet plans with a backup connection these days. Customers who avail of these plans are supplied with a modem that connects to a mobile network (usually 4G or 5G) so you can stay online in case an NBN outage happens.
NBN outages can last for a few minutes or a few hours, depending on the problem. A simple restart might do the trick if the problem is with your NBN connection box or modem. However, if a wider network issue causes the outage, it might take a while to resolve.
If you want to stay updated on the latest NBN outages, check their official website. It provides updates on current and future outages in your area so you can plan your internet usage accordingly.
NBN outages are a true buzzkill. Whether you’re in the middle of submitting a report or bingeing on your favourite shows, losing internet connection is never welcome. But you should be fine with a reliable service provider and an internet plan that’s perfect for your location and consumption patterns.
If you are thinking about switching telcos or are still in the process of getting one installed, it might help to read up on some comparisons of the leading service providers in Australia.
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