The National Broadband Network (NBN) rollout is storming ahead in Armidale, with new areas available to the community. There are seven fibre-serving areas, with one of those the University of New England. Four are already complete and two are nearing completion. One will be completed by the end of this year, with the last area to be finished early in 2013. This will make Armidale the first city in Australia to be fully fibred. NBN Co is encouraging residents to switch early to the NBN, particularly in fibre coverage areas, where the copper network will eventually be replaced.
The Armidale Independent sat down with Trent Williams, General Manager of External Relations at NBN Co, during his recent visit to Armidale, to discuss how people go about getting connected.
“The first step for people to get connected to the NBN is to go onto our website www.nbnco.com.au and look to see if the area that they live in is finished or not, by viewing the rollout map on the website,” Mr Williams said.
“If it is finished, you can look for a retail service provider, give them a call and find out what packages they are offering for the NBN.
“We are encouraging everyone to shop around; one of the beautiful things about the NBN is that it enables all of the retail service providers access to the network if they want to offer packages to their customers.
“Once you have signed up with your retail service provider, they will then organise for someone to come and install the necessary equipment in your home, and then you are ready to go.
“NBN Co are building the infrastructure; as far as signing up, people need to call a service provider, just like they would when they are setting up their mobile phones.”
As the NBN fibre installation rolls out in Armidale, NBN Co have started a direct marketing campaign which will be a combination of radio ads, paper ads and direct mail to encourage people to sign up.
For those wanting more information, NBN Co publishes a list of known internet and telephone companies providing NBN services at www.nbnco.com.au/serviceproviders
Maps of areas covered by the NBN rollout are also available at www.nbnco.com.au/rollout/rollout-map.
