Inside an NBN node at Umina Beach

nbn™: FTTN limited to 12/1 Mbps during transition

While legacy services such as ADSL2+ exist on the Telstra copper network, speeds will be limited to reduce interference.

Despite what the documentations says, nbn™ has now denied (on the record) that they will “limit” speeds to 12/1.  Please refer to this post here for more information.

In the most recent draft of the Wholesale Broadband Agreement (WBA 2.2) released Access Seekers for FTTN Business Readiness Testing, nbn has revealed that speeds will be limited to 12/1 Mbps during the so-called “Co-existence Period” on the Fibre to the Node network.

During this period, all bandwidth profiles will be restricted to reduce interference with existing legacy services that run on the Telstra network.  A similar limitation will apply to Fibre to the Basement, however, the maximum speed will be limited to 25/5 Mbps rather than 12/1 Mbps.

Table showing the speed limitations for FTTN/FTTB during Co-existence Period
Table showing the speed limitations for FTTN/FTTB during Co-existence Period

In the document, the company said that the speeds will continue to be limited until “NBN Co is satisfied that Downstream Power Back-off is no longer required”:

11.5 Co-existence Period
NBN Co will disable Downstream Power Back-off in respect of an NBN Co Node when NBN Co is satisfied that Downstream Power Back-off is no longer required in respect of that part of the NBN Co FTTB Network or NBN Co FTTN Network (as the case may be). The Co-existence Period for Ordered Products supplied by means of that NBN Co Node will cease at such time.

FTTN BRT Special Terms – WBA 2.2 Draft – NEBS Product Description

Despite explicit wording of the documentation, however, a spokesperson for nbn™ has denied to technology publication ZDNet that they will limit speeds.  Instead, they have indicated that they will guarantee speeds of at least 12/1 mbps.

During the period when NBN is upgrading a suburb with ADSL to VDSL2 speeds will not be limited to 12/1Mbps. During this so-called ‘co-existence period’ line speeds on the NBN FttN service will still be substantially faster than those being delivered via ADSL2+ from the exchange

For customers who live close to the exchange, the speed attainable over the Fibre to the Node network may actually be lower during the “Co-existence period” than what’s possible over their existing ADSL2+ service.  The typical theoretical maximum speed for ADSL2+ is 24/1 Mbps and is delivered from the Telstra exchange.

ADSL and special services will "co-exist" with FTTN/FTTB during the transitional Co-existence Period
ADSL and special services will “co-exist” with FTTN/FTTB during the transitional Co-existence Period

However, since the duration of the Co-existence period varies depending in the area still using ADSL or special services – customers who experience greater speeds over ADSL2+ (greater than the 12/1 Mbps offered) would still need to migrate to NBN before NBN Co can declare the “Co-existence period” over.

Once the Co-existence Period is over, nbn™ will provide 12/1 Mbps and 25/5 Mbps speed profiles similar to those on Fibre to the Premises with higher speeds only available as an “up-to” range.  However, NBN Co also states in the document that it is considered acceptable if the customer only receives speeds set out in the PIR or PIR range “once” in 24 hours.

Table showing the FTTN/FTTB AVC speed ranges in the draft of WBA 2.2
Table showing the FTTN/FTTB AVC speed ranges in the draft of WBA 2.2

FTTN BRT Special Terms – WBA 2.2 Draft – NEBS Product Description (PDF)

Kenneth Tsang

I'm the author of jxeeno™ blog and co-founder of HSCninja.com. I'm a bit of an #NBN and public transport geek. You can normally find me juggling work and my studies at UNSW where I'm currently completing a degree in Geospatial Engineering.

  • Pingback: nbn™: criteria for copper remediation revealed - jxeeno blog.()

  • electroteque

    There will always be interference. And because Telstra has run off with all the money they wont be able to afford to upgrade to the fraud vectoring. They don’t even plan to upgrade HFC to docsis 3.1. They have wasted millions to provide the same result.

    • blackpaw

      Not millions. *Billions*.

      • electroteque

        A million million. Fraud money laundering schemes with no benefit. Setting traps as what privatisation does.

      • electroteque

        Economy and innovation killers !

  • Checkov

    Fraudband

  • Optus and iiNet/cable are Docsis 3.0 and even Telstra is using EuroDOCSIS3.0 but not all. Things can only get better with DOCSIS 3.1, and even DOCSIS 3.0 could be re-engineered to run faster.

  • light487

    “However, NBN Co also states in the document that it is considered acceptable if the customer only receives speeds set out in the PIR or PIR range “once” in 24 hours.”

    Is this not contrary to the current telecom consumer laws of product/service of mercantile quality?

    • Annie

      You’re misunderstanding that, imo.

      NBN don’t hate Telstra. They are Telstra, in many cases, and they have given Telstra the big bonus of taking over much of the NBN work. The entire network will be operating at half power during the FTTN transition period. There was no such issue with FTTP NBN, only with the borderline obsolete replacement technology.

    • Andrew

      You’re misunderstanding – the speed limits are not because of Telstra per se. It’s because you may be on a network where your neighbors are only getting 5-10mbps on ADSL. If NBN Co allows you to suddenly get VDSL at 50mbps+ at your property, this will cause a LOT of cross-talk with your neighbors, probably causing their speeds to slow even more as the modem and DSLAM compensate for the increased noise floor. In the worst case, it could even cause their ADSL to drop out entirely.

      The same thing currently happens if you are on a RIM, while neighbors using nearby cables have a direct connection to the exchange. As the RIM is closer, it turns down the output power so as to not drown out the signal on adjacent connections.

      • Andrew

        This is also why as the “co-existence period” is up (i.e. Telstra services are cut off, and everyone must move to the NBN) the speed limit will be removed.

  • Nanoparticle

    This illustrates it perfectly LOL
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTHA4G-Hsy4