NBN announces first FttDP rollout areas

The company rolling out the Australian government's National Broadband Network (NBN) has revealed the areas that will be the first to receive fibre-to-the-distribution-point/curb (FttDP/FttC) network technology.

Included in these areas are Sydney suburbs Alexandria, Botany, Caringbah South, Cronulla, Denham Court, Erskineville, Gladesville, Horningsea Park, Hunters Hill, Lugano, Mona Vale, Peakhurst, Revesby, Tennyson Point, Woolooware, and Woronora Heights.

Melbourne suburbs Burnside, Brooklyn, Coburg North, Cremorne, Richmond Carolyn Springs, Derrimut, Frankston, Williamstown, and parts of Collingwood will also receive FttDP/C network technology, with Coburg North to be the first area built up thanks to hosting trials during the second half of 2017.

NBN said it expects to launch commercial FttDP/C services in the first half of 2018, with 100,000 premises able to connect at that point.

NBN had earlier this month revealed the fibre-serving areas likely to receive FttDP/C in replacement of the unusable Optus hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC) network in response to a Senate Estimates question on notice.

Those fibre-serving areas were mentioned as being Botany, Burwood, Como, Cronulla, Dural, Edensor Park, Frenchs Forest, Guildford, Homebush, Hornsby, Hunters Hill, Kogarah, Miranda, Mona Vale, Orchard Hill, Peakhurst, Ramsgate, Revesby, Rockdale, Silverwater, Sydney, and Springwood in New South Wales; Altona, Coburg, Chelsea, Dandenong, Epping, Fawkner, Frankston, Footscray, Heidelberg, Lilydale, Laverton, Mount Eliza, Montrose, North Essendon, Newport, Richmond, Seaford, and Thomastown in Victoria; and Bundamba, Brassall, and Ipswich in Queensland.

NBN announced in September that it would be replacing the Optus HFC footprint with its FttDP network, with up to 700,000 premises to be covered by the new network technology, after a leaked NBN draft in November 2015 revealed that Optus' HFC network is "not fully fit for purpose".

FttDP will also be deployed in some areas that were previously slated to receive fibre-to-the-node (FttN) network connections.

"We have tested FttDP over the last year, and we're confident we can now deploy the technology in areas where it makes better sense from a customer experience, deployment efficiency, and cost perspective," NBN chief network engineering officer Peter Ryan said last year.

"This includes premises in the FttN footprint that have too high a cost per premises (CPP), and premises served solely by the legacy Optus HFC footprint that are yet to be made ready for service."

ZDNet revealed in October that the FttDP network will be launched with old VDSL technology instead of G.fast technology enabling gigabit speeds.