Good question with half the tech jargon flying around with regards to the National Broadband Network (NBN) it makes our head hurt so we feel your pain.

As we are aware the Australian government decided to implement a National Broadband Network to provide cheaper Internet access for all Australian’s. This was to be delivered over 3 different technologies but then a change of government saw a different view.

  • Fibre to the Premise (FttP), Fibre to the Building (FttB), Fibre to the Node (FttN) and Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) fall under the category of Fixed Line technology
  • Fixed Wireless
  • Sky Muster Satellite

So, what is Fibre to the Premise or Fibre to the Building I hear you asking? Its where Fibre optic cables are laid in the ground inside conduit and then when they get to your street the Fibre optic cables are brought inside your house or business premise. You can then use this to connect to the Internet service provider of your choice.

Fibre to the Node is slightly different again as it uses Fibre Optic cables to a street cabinet and then uses the existing copper telephone lines for the “last mile” or “kilometre”.

Hybrid Fibre Coaxial is like Fibre to the Node in some respects. It uses fibre to the street cabinet and then uses existing Pay TV coaxial cables from the street cabinet to your home or business premises.

Fixed wireless uses an Antenna on the roof your house or business premises to establish a point-to-point wireless connection with a transmission tower. It kind of works like a mobile phone communicating with a mobile tower except this traffic is dedicated to the NBN. This is generally used in rural areas where it’s too costly to install Fibre Optic cables.

If your still with us and haven't fallen asleep we are almost finished the last one being Sky Muster Satellite. Used in remote rural areas that are a long distance from towns and too far away for fixed wireless. A satellite dish is installed on your home or business premises and points up into the sky and one of 2 satellites which provide you Internet. As the satellites are a long way away this is heavily affected by latency. Latency is the amount of time it takes your internet traffic to get from your computer to the server and back again. It makes it difficult to do any sort of video conferencing, or internet phone calls (VoIP).

Well, we finally got to the end, hopefully you know understand a bit more about the NBN and we have explained it in enough plain English for you and you didn't fall asleep!!!

So How is NBN Internet different to Fibre Internet?

Great question!

While they are similar in some respects in most areas, they are a completely different kettle of fish.

It’s true that Fibre Internet and NBN internet may both be delivered over the same type of cable in the ground however that is where the similarities end.

NBN

  • Speed is not guaranteed
  • Upgrading speeds come in 3 tiers until the NBN decide to change it
  • Speeds are not the same for download and upload

Fibre Internet Services

  • Carrier grade connection
  • Guaranteed download/upload speed
  • Service Level guarantees
  • Easily upgradeable speeds

What is Fibre Internet Services?

Good question and no its not additional servings of Fibre to help you with your digestion.

Fibre based Internet services are delivered to your business premises via Fibre Optic cabling that is in the ground. If you’re lucky the previous tenants of your office building may have had it connected previously in which case it will be much cheaper to get it connected than say another building that has never been connected.

Some of the advantages are

  • Guaranteed speed which means the speed of the link you are paying for you receive and won’t be sharing that with other Internet users.
  • Service Level guarantees which mean if the Internet is not operational for a period of time you are entitled to rebates. This all varies depending on the provider and will be in the contract/documentation they provide.
  • Easily upgradeable internet speeds.

Ultimately it delivers peace of mind when you need a fast and reliable internet connection for your professional services firm.

For those professional services firms who are heavily invested in the public cloud then Fibre Internet Services are a better option. What happens when your internet goes down and you have an office full of people that can’t work? Another scenario could be that you still run all your IT systems in house and need to have staff remotely logging in to access emails, practice management applications etc. If your team can’t access these systems how are they productive?

If you are interested in finding out if either of the products above is available for your office or is the right option for your professional services firm, then give us a call on 08 6244 2556.