NBN Co hopes to reduce network congestion with new lower supplier costs
Nothing but ‘net
If you’re one of the thousands of Australian NBN customers who’ve suffered from slower-than-expected internet speeds, help might finally be on the way.
Back in February, NBN Co announced a new discount scheme for its capacity-based Connectivity Virtual Circuit (CVC) charges, but it’s only today that those reductions actually go into effect.
CVC pricing has to do with how the national broadband service sells wholesale access to retail service providers (RSPs), like your ISP. Historically, these charges have been high: $20 per Mbps per month when the service began, then was brought down to $17.50 in November 2014. Last year, the price fell to $15.25.
Starting today, the discounts will increase based on how many end-users the RSP has connected. In theory, that means ISPs are incentivised to add more overall bandwidth as their customer base grows.
For the end user
NBN Co’s latest weekly update boasted that the broadband service was now available to over 5 million premises, but less than half of those have signed up for the service. NBN Co is hoping this new discount scheme should also help boost those numbers.
The lower supplier cost should especially benefit major resellers like Telstra, Optus and TPG, as they can buy more CVC and provide high-speed internet to more customers, thus reducing the congestion that’s been plaguing some parts of the network, particularly during peak times.
- Looking for a better broadband connection? These are the best broadband deals in Australia at the moment.
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While she's happiest with a camera in her hand, Sharmishta's main priority is being TechRadar's APAC Managing Editor, looking after the day-to-day functioning of the Australian, New Zealand and Singapore editions of the site, steering everything from news and reviews to ecommerce content like deals and coupon codes. While she loves reviewing cameras and lenses when she can, she's also an avid reader and has become quite the expert on ereaders and E Ink writing tablets, having appeared on Singaporean radio to talk about these underrated devices. Other than her duties at TechRadar, she's also the Managing Editor of the Australian edition of Digital Camera World, and writes for Tom's Guide and T3.