NBN Intro

  1. How it works from Foxtel & Optus broadcasting over HFC cable in 1995, to streaming via C-tags (Client modems) and S-tags (RSPs) in 2026, and if connected via HFC in the capital cities with those NBN CMTS exchange units, writing individual MAC modem addresses processing millions of packets per second.
  2. NBN Packet Structure with S-Tags and C-Tags. As C-Tags only allow for a maximum of 4,096 residences, the larger RSPs need to have multiple S-Tags with NBN establishing the S-Tags in use at each POI.
  3. NBN Check Address and Technology available Locate and Click on House for detail. Note that in the capital cities where HFC was installed after 1995, FTTP is generally not available (at no charge).

    Connection Options iiNet FTTP Fibre to the Premises, FTTB Building mains 48v DC, FTTN Node mains 48v DC, FTTC Curb (up to 4 properties) House mains 60v DC, HFC (optical node 60v - 90v AC to street tap), Wireless, Satellite

    Connection Options (2) Belong's wiring diagrams

End Intro

Go to POI (Points of Interconnect)

NBN Timeline

1995 HFC TV coax (Trunks, Branches, Taps) by Telstra and Optus in Brisbane Sydney Melbourne
2007 FTTP to the Premises NBN Internet commencing in 2009 and first customer finally connected July 2010. Three years went by.
Sep 2013 ALP lose the election
Nov 2013 110,000 customers signed on (1½% of Australia)
355,000 households have been passed (5%), 245,000 without agreements. Much of Australia on ADSL and ADSL2. Awkward installations expensive, note fibre optic is more fragile than copper.

NBN Multi-Technology Mix (MTM) shift

FTTB (Fibre to the Building) in 2014, FTTC (Fibre to the Curb) in 2018, but in particular FTTN (Fibre to the Node) in 2015 accelerates rollout. They used VDSL2 (very high speed DSL over Telephone Cable) its power boosted up to 30MHz, its download speed varying
within 300 metres distance from the fibre-optic cable: 100Mbps+,
1 km: 50Mbps, 2km: 15Mbps, 3km: 8Mbps, 4-5 km: back to 1-4Mbps
HFC in 2016. DOCSIS 3.1 in 2018 lifts Neighbourhood speed 20-fold from 500Mbps to 10Gbps.

Rollout continued
2014 250,000 users, the network increasing by 140,000 from 2013
2015 500,000 users, it doubled from 2014
2016 1 million users, it doubled from 2015
2017 2½ million users, an increase of 1½ million
2018 4 million users, an increase of 1½ million
2019 5½ million users, an increase of 1½ million
2020 7.4 million users in June 2020
2021 8.4 million users in June 2021
2022 8.7 million users in June 2022
2023 8.8 million users in December 2023

Current Stats

NBN Dec 2025
Base Connections 8.8m

Latest Stats there are more than 170 Internet Service Providers / RSPs (Retail Service Providers) in Australia providing backhaul to the NBN.

Click here for Wikipedia links. Only 6 RSPs service more than 500,000 connections

These are
Telstra 3.18m 36%
TPG 1.58m 17.9% - (accessed via PPPoE)
Optus 1.08m 12.3%
Vocus (Dodo,iPrimus) 881t 10%
Aussie Broadband 773t 8.8%
Superloop 658t 7.5%
Others 665t 7.5%

Technology Types
FTTP 2.99m 35%
HFC (Hybrid Fibre Coaxial) 2.5m 28%
FTTN 2.3m 26%
FTTC (Curb) 660t 7.5%
FixedWireless 280t 3%
FTTB (Building) 70t 0.8%
Satellite 80t 0.9%

Non-NBN Connections
Mobile Broadband 4.4m (mostly 5G)
Home Wireless 800t
Fibre 300t
Starlink Satellite 550t

Points of Interconnect (POI)

Based on https://www.canstarblue.com.au/internet/where-is-poi-nbn/, a page no longer online

How do POIs work?

POIs are nodes that connect your home to the internet, a multi-step process

  1. In your home, your devices connect to your modem-router via wired Ethernet or WiFi
  2. Your modem-router connects to an NBN connection device, then serviced in an FSA (Fibre Service Area) with the data stripped of all local protocols to be standard Ethernet frames, then forwarded to the nearest NBN Point of Interconnect
  3. This connects to your RSP Network (Retail Service Provider), patched through to an international network, where you can access websites and browse the web.

Where is my POI?

Usually housed in select telephone exchange buildings, there's 121 across Australia's states, servicing every household on the network.

Below is a list split up by state.

New South Wales POIs

Queensland POIs

Victoria POIs

Western Australia POIs

South Australia POIs

ACT POIs

Tasmania POIs

Northern Territory POIs

An Interim POI is to be utilised when a permanent POI has not been developed, typically in new areas. Note none are currently in use.

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