Expanding nbn connectivity to just about anywhere

If you can imagine it, you are halfway to making it. Picture a new park in a new estate in Western Australia. In that park, there's a small device no bigger than your thumb connected to a light pole. And through that device, the community benefits from the power of broadband connectivity via nbn® fibre.

That park could have high-performing Wi-Fi for anyone who visits there. A new father could sit in the fresh air video-calling his parents while his newborn sleeps in a pram. Kids could play e-games against each other while taking a break from the BMX track. A university student could write her assignment on a smart bench that has USB ports and wireless chargers for her devices.

You could even work from home – not shackled to your dining table – but in the outdoors, surrounded by the grass and trees, living your best life. At the same time, you're leveraging everything you need from the cloud.

Suppose you push your imagination further – this small device and its fibre connectivity power a small weather station, allowing the developer to regulate the irrigation at the park and at one of its display homes just down the road. It's saving water and money – and sparing all of us the spectacle of sprinklers watering grass that's about to be soaked by rain.

Property developers, the people building future communities, would know they're creating an environment where people want to live, and businesses want to trade. And that's great for developers, business owners and your way of life.

You don't have to imagine that because that's already happening with nbn's newest product, nbn® Smart Places*. THE POWER OF THE NBN NETWORK OUTDOORS

Brabham Estate, built by leading national property developer Peet and in collaboration with Development WA, is located 20km north-east of Perth’s CBD. This innovative community is one of the program locations where an nbn Smart Places device has been installed on a light pole in a public park.

This WA example is one of 35 trials across the country. nbn Smart Places is a fascinating product that proposes to take the power of nbn beyond homes and businesses. It proposes to deliver broadband services via nbn fibre to just about anywhere. It’s designed to allow nbn to satisfy the current thirst for digital connectivity that will only grow into the future. But, because it's essential, nbn must stay ahead of that demand.

If you look at the last six years, data use has tripled. As a result, the need for broadband will reach levels never seen before over the next decade as the internet continues transforming the world and how we live.

One of the ways nbn plans to meet that demand is through nbn Smart Places. This new equipment – miniaturised, ruggedised and reverse-powered network connection devices – can create fibre connections just about anywhere. It will enable the power of the nbn network to be delivered to demanding outdoor locations that aren't serviceable using standard equipment.

As you can now imagine, the possibilities are just about limitless. *nbn Smart Places is under consultation and subject to change. NBN Co is now accepting orders for the construction of nbn Smart Places infrastructure for eligible new property developments with construction starting after March 2023. Service connectivity including timing, will depend on phone and internet provider offering nbn Smart Places.