In part one, NBN Co’s head of customer strategy and innovation Dr Robert Joyce mapped out the wholesaler’s plans for a full fibre future. You can read that article here: https://w.media/nbn-co-shifts-gear-on-high-speed-services-to-favour-fibre/ The second part of the interview discussed wireless innovation and how telcos can be sustainable in a power-hungry world.
When 5G arrived, there was great hope for the high-capacity mmWave spectrum which faded as soon as US telcos found mid-band spectrum and CBRS kicked on the world’s largest fixed wireless market down that path. As a result, when it comes to 5G fixed wireless innovation, NBN Co has become a pioneer by default in reality as it has embarked on an innovation path which is pushing the boundaries of mmWave.
Last February, NBN Co and vendor partner Ericsson announced the deployment of long-range software supports a transmission range for 5G mmWave technology of up to 6.9km using advanced beamforming techniques and machine learning, in combination with existing technology.
“NBN Co is optimising our fixed wireless network, including installing the next generation 4G and 5G mmWave equipment,” Joyce told W.Media. “This new technology is designed to deliver more reach (by extending the range of the towers from 14km to up to 29km where possible) and more speed to regional and remote Australia. NBN will be among the first in the world to deploy 5G FWA technology at this scale for a dedicated fixed wireless network.”
Two new high speed plans
“With FWA today we’re offering services with wholesale download speeds of up to 100Mbps, and in June 2024 we’ll also be introducing two new high-speed plans, he said. NBN Fixed Wireless Home Fast will offer wholesale download speeds between 200-250Mbps and upload speeds between 8-20Mbps.”
He added: “We anticipate by the end of 2024 this plan will be available to up to 90 percent of the upgraded NBN fixed wireless coverage area.”
Joyce said NBN Fixed Wireless Superfast will offer wholesale download speeds of up to 400Mbps and upload speeds between 10-40Mbps. “We anticipate by the end of 2024 this plan will be available to up to 80% of the upgraded NBN fixed wireless coverage area. And we don’t intend to stop there. We’re already working with our partners to push even more out of our FWA towers, having already demonstrated over 1Gbps over 5G mmWave FWA out to 10km from the tower.
The threat of LEOsats
Although NBN has driven its fixed wireless network deeper into its older satellite service footprint, the arrival of low Earth orbit satellite services like Starlink and soon, Amazon Kuiper, has impacted NBN Co’s plans for its Sky Muster satellite services. The operator overhauled its pricing and began offering uncapped data last November.
“When NBN’s Sky Muster service launched in 2016 it was pioneering, in that overnight virtually every square kilometre of Australia was now able to connect to an Australian owned and operated satellite network delivering connection speeds well in excess of those that were offered by the existing copper-based ASDL technology at the time,” said Joyce. “Today, we now offer wholesale download speeds of over 100Mbps on the Sky Muster service.”
“The current Sky Muster satellites will approach end of life by around 2032 and for this reason we recently announced that NBN has released a closed Request for Information (RFI) to low earth orbit (LEO) satellite providers to further understand their offerings,” he said. “The RFI is the first step in NBN Co looking ahead to how best to meet the evolving broadband needs of homes and businesses in the NBN satellite footprint.”
Being a sustainable telco
Joyce emphasised that network innovation wasn’t the only thing the operator was trying to transform; underpinning all of this work is innovating sustainably.
“At NBN we often say fibre is greener, for various reasons,” he said. “Firstly, the rollout of more fibre deeper into the communities we serve makes our network more energy-efficient. This is quantifiable in terms of power per bit transmitted, with fibre so much more efficient than copper and radio frequency (RF)-based transmission technologies. And, secondly, since fibre is passive the cable does not radiate RF and can therefore not cause or suffer from RF interference unlike copper-based or RF-based solutions.
He added: “Our fibre is actually wrapped in a green sheath that has been registered as ‘Hayden Green’, chosen to differentiate it from other cabling and named after one of NBN’s first network engineers.”
Joyce said various studies have been undertaken to assess the energy intensity of telecommunications networks. “These found that fibre optic technology allows for a far more efficient communication at high data rates of gigabits compared to copper-based technologies,” he said.
“Like many organisations NBN Co utilises an Optical Network Terminal (ONT) to support full fibre services,” he said. “Through our Science Based emission reduction targets NBN Co is focused on adopting energy-efficient features in these devices to reduce Scope 3 GHG emissions by 60% per device by FY30 compared to FY21 as the base year.”
The strong environmental credentials of the operator’s fibre rollout has enabled it to become the largest Australian corporate issuer in Green Bond format, with approximately AUD5.9 billion equivalent of Green Bonds outstanding in the domestic and international markets.
Helping Australia’s grid cope
Joyce said that importantly, the company’s investments in fibre upgrades will not only help improve customer experience – they will also support the nation’s transition to net-zero by 2050. “Global research shows that digital technologies can contribute to emissions avoidance outside of the telecommunications value chain, having the potential to reduce emissions by up to 20 per cent across industries,” he said.
He is quick to point out the challenge we all face. The average Australian home has 22 internet-connected devices. NBN Co expects this to grow to 33 devices per household by 2026 and 40 devices, on average, by the end of the decade.
“Many of these will be Smart appliances or Consumer Energy Resources (CER) such as solar, batteries, Electric Vehicles, and smart electric hot water systems,” he said. “CER has the potential to transform Australia’s energy system with the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) forecasting that these technologies will increase ninefold with 50% of consumers, including large businesses, to use these in some form by 2030.”
He added: “Smart digital technologies enabled by our network have the potential to empower customers with real-time data collection and insights allowing informed decisions about energy consumption and generation, fostering energy self-sufficiency and helping households lower their energy use.”
Sustainable PPAs have a key role
According to Joyce, NBN Co is making progress on its commitment to 100% renewable electricity purchases from December 2025. In September 2023, a new solar farm at West Wyalong in the Riverina area of New South Wales, was officially completed and switched on. This was enabled by NBN Co’s first Renewable Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) – a 10-year agreement where the company has contracted to take approximately 90GWh per annum.
In October 2023, NBN Co announced its second PPA at a wind farm operated by AGL at Macarthur in south-west Victoria. The company has contracted to take approximately 90GWh per year throughout the six-year agreement. And in November 2023, the company announced the signing of its third Renewable (PPA) – a 10-year PPA that will enable construction of a new solar farm in south-east Queensland.
“Networks like ours will continue to consume electricity both now and into the future,” said Joyce. “To achieve deep reductions in direct emissions, further renewable electricity is required and telcos can play a role by supporting additional generation to decarbonise electricity grids.”
Interconnect World
NBN Co head of customer strategy and innovation Dr Robert Joyce will be delivering the keynote address at Interconnect World Sydney at the Hilton Hotel on 7 August 2024.
The inaugural event brings together the industry’s leading telcos, ISPs, IXs, TMT investors, government agencies along with key enterprise decision makers. These stakeholders will consider key technology and investment trends and address best practices in terms of the connectivity of digital infrastructure. To find out more and to register please visit: https://interconnectworld.com/events/sydney-interconnect-world-2024/