Connection deadline revealed for five times faster internet in Dubbo

Up to 4,000 homes and businesses are ready to connect to full fibre internet already and this will increase to 80 per cent of the Dubbo local government area by December 2025.

Full fibre is the same as fibre to the node (FTTN), and the nbn website claims it offers near-gigabit speeds and a "highly reliable connection".

Dubbo is serviced by a mix of differing technologies, including FTTN, fixed wireless and satellite.

The fibre upgrade program is replacing FTTN technology in certain areas of Dubbo where older, slower and less reliable copper is being replaced with fibre.

Along with the infrastructure roll-out, nbn has also put forward a proposal to increase speeds dramatically through its nbn Home Fast product, at no extra wholesale cost to retailers, to cater for the growing digital demand across the country.

This would be available for homes and businesses with FTTP and Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) technologies.

Head of nbn Local NSW, Tom O'Dea, said the fibre upgrade program in Dubbo is almost 50 per cent completed.

The higher speeds will cater for people working from home, families streaming and those connecting multiple devices.

Data demand and usage has doubled in the last five years, with the average Australian household consuming 443 gigabytes per month across 22 internet-connected devices.

This is expected to grow to 33 devices per household by 2026 and 40 devices, on average, by the end of the decade.

"Households are consuming more data than ever to do the things they love like streaming 4K on multiple devices, online education, next level gaming, conference calls, and uploading and downloading large files for work," Mr O'Dea said.

"Fibre upgrades are just one way we are bringing better broadband to our major regional centres. Places like Dubbo are no longer just areas people stop in while commuting, or for holidays. Faster, more reliable internet is enabling people to live and work remotely in places they otherwise wouldn't be able to.

"With the nbn network carrying 87 per cent of our country's download data - and Australians consuming more of it than ever - the availability of full fibre for more homes across Australia has never been more important."

Across Australia, nbn plans to roll-out the higher internet speeds to about nine million homes and businesses by December 2024, and up to 10.2 million premises the following year.

This represents about 90 per cent of NBN's fixed line network.

These speeds would allow a 10GB file to be downloaded within five minutes rather than 17 minutes, as well as better video conferencing and gaming and more reliable connectivity.