Four telcos sign up for NBN FTTB trial

Four telcos have signed up to participate in an NBN Co pilot of fibre-to-the-building (FTTB) technology.

The telcos involved are iiNet, M2, Optus and Telstra. The trial will take place in the Melbourne suburbs of Carlton, Parkville and Brunswick.

The pilot program is expected to run for three months. NBN Co said it and the telcos will evaluate "all aspects" of construction, installation, operation, service performance and the overall customer experience during the trial.

NBN Co has installed VDSL2 vectoring equipment in eight high-rises, including a mix of apartments, retail and office buildings.

The VDSL2 vectoring equipment will be used to deliver broadband through each building's existing telephone cabling.

NBN Co claims it achieved download speeds exceeding 100 Mbps and upload speeds exceeding 40 Mbps in "preliminary tests" of the technology late last year.

Gary McLaren, NBN Co's CTO, said: "According to the Strategic Review, up to 12,000 buildings containing around one million individual premises could be served by FTTB. This pilot scheme, and the fibre-to-the-node trials we're currently scoping, will help us determine the fastest and most cost-effective way to deliver access to high-speed broadband sooner."