When you start seeing NBN tradespeople installing equipment in your area, it’s impossible to not get excited. After years of waiting the NBN rollout has arrived in your suburb! You’ve been bombarded by a torrent of advertising material to let you know that the NBN will become available at your address, so what do you do next?
Timing
The first thing to know is that you have time to make a decision. You have a 12-18-month window once NBN is available to make the switch.
Landlines
The second thing to consider is whether you want to keep your landline phone (if you have one). The arrival of the NBN is going to result in the disconnection of the telephone network, and instead the NBN will operate a data network. This distinction might seem unimportant, but it means the way a landline phone works is different. Instead of your internet running over a telephone line (eg. ADSL2+), your telephone will run over an internet link via system known as Voice over IP (VOIP).
The good news is that if you no longer want a landline home phone, you wont have to pay for one either. Instead all you’ll need is an internet connection. If you do want a home phone, choose a VOIP service, you’ll find it significantly cheaper and it has more features than a standard home phone line rental.
Types of NBN
The third thing to consider is what sort of NBN you’re going to receive. Under the NBN multi-technology-mix (MTM) there are 7 different technologies, which NBN utilises to deliver the internet to your premises. At Leaptel, we provide services for all types – except the Sky Muster satellite product. To find out which form of NBN you’re receiving use our service qualification tool, or talk directly to our team via live chat or phone and we can advise you.
NBN’s Fibre to the Curb (FTTC), Fibre to the Basement (FTTB) and Fibre to the Node (FTTN) technologies mean that your current phone line is going to be used to distribute the NBN network. No problem, you’re moving on from the old network so why does this matter? Well, there is strong evidence that the existence of extra phone sockets in your premise may have deleterious results for the quality of your NBN connection.
Leaptel recommends that if you’re trying to maximise the speed you can get from your internet to have a licensed data electrician attend your premise and un-wire any un-needed phone sockets.
NBN’s other product eg. Fibre to the Premises, Hybrid Fibre Coaxial and Fixed Wireless – will be delivered by other means rather than your phone line.
NBN Plans
The next step is to pick your plan. One of the biggest changes to NBN is the arrival of different speed tiers. At the time of writing, Leaptel provides 4 different speed tiers on NBN, ranging from the Basic 12Mbps/1Mbps plan all the way up to our Full-Throttle 100Mbps/40Mbps plan. This means you have more options than ever – to suit your budge and needs. Have a read of Lenny’s Lesson #1 to pick the perfect plan for your needs.
Additional to your plan you’ll need to decide if you need a new modem/router. To take the stress out of picking a router you can purchase a router from Leaptel on a month-to-month option, or receive one for free if you go on a 24-month contract! If you wish to get your own modem router separate to your Leaptel connection, we have listed the specific requirements for each service type here.
Our Australian based support team will be able to help with modem selection, but please note due to the sheer number of devices on the market, we are not able to assist with setting up of BYO devices nor can we guarantee it will work on our network.
Once you’ve sorted out your plan it’s time to sign-up. The signup process with Leaptel is quick and easy, normally processed within 24 hours however you should allow 2-3 weeks for NBN to send a technician out to complete the physical part of the works. We hope you enjoy your experience with NBN.
Learn more about NBN here or leap in to Leaptel’s NBN plans here.