WORK has continued on upgrades to the nbn fixed wireless network in Red Hill and Herne Hill, benefitting households in the Swan region by providing access to faster speeds and extending the coverage of the nbn fixed wireless network.

The upgrade work is scheduled to begin in Red Hill and Herne Hill in the coming weeks.

The upgrades will see nbn use 4G technology and software enhancements and will be one of the first in the world to introduce 5G mmWave technology at this scale which is expected to deliver more coverage, minimise congestion and offer access to higher speed tiers on the nbn fixed wireless network.

The $750 million investment in the nbn fixed wireless and nbn sky muster satellite network – $480 million from the federal government and $270 million from nbn – is on track to be completed by around December 2024.

When complete, the investment will expand the reach of the existing nbn fixed wireless footprint by up to 50 per cent, as well as enabling two new high speed fixed wireless plans – fixed wireless home fast and fixed wireless superfast.

Work has begun to enable the upgrades, including nbn introducing new technology and replacing some hardware on fixed wireless towers.

The tower upgrades will mean some planned outages may impact homes and businesses and their ability to use their nbn service while the work is underway and while all reasonable efforts will be taken there will be occasions where towers will need to be taken offline.

The tower works will not impact nbn fixed line or nbn Sky Muster satellite services, and impacted homes and businesses should be notified of any outages via their retail service provider.

Nbn Local WA head Naomi Evans said “There is increasing demand for faster internet from homes and businesses across Australia and we are continuing to invest in the nbn network to stay ahead of demand.

“We are excited to have begun work upgrading the nbn fixed wireless network in Red Hill and Herne Hill, which will be a game changer for up to a million households and businesses across Australia.

“After the tower works are completed, we expect that faster download speeds during the busy period will become available across the nbn fixed wireless network.

“We are asking the community to prepare for these outages and have back up connectivity if they need it.

“We encourage people to check the nbn website and watch out for communication from their retail service provider about how the planned outages may impact them.”

More than 750,000 homes and businesses across Australia are intended to benefit from upgrades to the nbn fixed wireless network.

To get the benefits of the upgrades, homes and businesses may also need to update the nbn device at their premises, and nbn will contact those impacted directly.

Not all devices will need to be replaced.

With a nbn fixed wireless connection, the nbn broadband signal travels from the transmission tower to an antenna installed on your roof.

For more information and to register for updates go to www.nbnco.com.au