The copper countdown has taken another step forward.
On 3 September 2026, NBN Co said more than 99 per cent of the approximately 600,000 premises remaining in its Fibre to the Node (FTTN) upgrade program are now expected to be able to access a Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) upgrade by December 2030. That is an eligibility target, not a promise that every premises will be connected automatically or by the same date.1
For households and businesses still using copper between the street and the premises, the direction is clear: full fibre is becoming the long-term fixed-line foundation. The practical question is no longer simply “Is fibre better?” It is “When can I order it, what will installation involve, and what should I fix inside the property so I benefit from it?”
What the latest announcement actually says
NBN Co’s update is broader than a new list of suburbs. It says detailed design is under way for more than 577,000 premises in the remaining FTTN program, around 254,000 are under construction and approximately 91,000 of those premises were already eligible to order an upgrade when the statement was published.1
NBN Co also expects more than 11 million homes and businesses to be eligible for multi-gigabit wholesale speeds when the program concludes. Availability will still depend on factors including provider offerings, service qualification, network capacity and equipment.1
Three distinctions matter:
- Announced is not yet orderable. Planning or construction in your area does not necessarily mean your address can be connected today.
- Eligible is not installed. An FTTP connection generally needs an order and an installation appointment.
- Network capability is not an end-user guarantee. Your retail plan, router, Wi-Fi, cabling, devices and application servers all affect the experience.
Those caveats should not dampen the news. They simply turn a national rollout headline into a sensible plan for your own property.
Why replacing the last copper section matters
With FTTN, fibre reaches a neighbourhood node and the final connection usually runs over existing copper. The length and condition of that copper can influence the service. FTTP takes optical fibre to the premises, removing that last copper section from the access path.
That gives the network a better platform for higher capacity and future upgrades. It can be useful when several people are streaming, backing up files, gaming and joining video calls at once. For a business, it can make higher-speed cloud access and large transfers more practical.
Fibre does not make every internet problem disappear. A poorly placed router can still leave a bedroom with weak Wi-Fi. A congested local network can still frustrate staff. A power outage can stop powered networking equipment. And a fast download service does not automatically provide the upload performance, restoration commitments or redundancy a business requires.
Think of FTTP as a stronger access foundation—not a substitute for good network design.
How to check your position
Start with the address checker on the nbn website. NBN Co says more than 7.8 million homes and businesses already have access to a fibre service, and directs customers to check eligibility by entering their address.1
Then ask your preferred provider these questions:
- Is FTTP available to order at this exact address now?
- Is an upgrade conditional on selecting a particular plan?
- What installation work is included, and what could attract an additional charge?
- Where are the external and internal connection boxes likely to go?
- Will my existing router support the service and speed I am considering?
- Is there likely to be downtime during the changeover?
- Do I need to migrate any phone, alarm, lift, medical or payment-terminal service?
For strata properties or leased premises, check who must approve access to common areas, walls, risers or communications rooms. Do this early; building access can be a bigger delay than the technology itself.
A home upgrade checklist
Before the installer arrives:
- Choose the equipment location carefully. A garage may be convenient for the incoming cable but poor for whole-home Wi-Fi.
- Identify power points. The connection equipment and router need suitable power.
- Plan the link to your router. If the fibre equipment must sit away from the ideal Wi-Fi position, an Ethernet run may be worthwhile.
- List connected services. Include voice services, security systems and devices that may rely on the existing connection.
- Save important settings. Record Wi-Fi names, passwords and any special configurations before replacing equipment.
- Test after activation. Use a wired device where possible, then check Wi-Fi in the rooms where people actually work and stream.
Do not judge the upgrade from a single speed test on an old phone at the far end of the house. Test methodically and separate access-line performance from Wi-Fi coverage.
A business upgrade checklist
Businesses should treat migration as a small change project rather than an ordinary router swap.
First, document the services that depend on the connection: cloud applications, EFTPOS, voice, VPNs, cameras, remote access, guest Wi-Fi and site-to-site links. Confirm whether public IP addressing, firewall rules or VPN settings will change.
Next, schedule the cutover for a sensible window and prepare a rollback or temporary-connectivity option. If internet access is operationally critical, ask whether one link is enough. Two services are not genuinely diverse if they share the same lead-in, pit, route or upstream dependency.
Finally, match the service to the requirement. At Capti, our business connectivity options include business fibre, third-party carrier fibre and fixed wireless. The right design starts with what your site needs to do.2
Ask about:
- required download and upload capacity;
- expected concurrent users and applications;
- latency-sensitive workloads such as voice and video;
- failover and physical-path diversity;
- monitoring, support and restoration requirements;
- compatible firewall, switching and Wi-Fi equipment.
Should you choose the fastest plan available?
Not automatically.
A household with two people, modest streaming and ordinary browsing may notice more benefit from better Wi-Fi coverage than from moving straight to a multi-gigabit plan. A creative studio transferring large media files could value upload capacity. A growing office may need resilient connectivity and well-designed Wi-Fi more than an impressive peak-speed test.
Work backwards from the busiest hour. Count simultaneous video calls, streams, backups and large transfers. Check whether key devices have gigabit or faster Ethernet, and whether your router and switches can handle the selected service. Upgrading the access service without checking the local network can create an expensive bottleneck one metre inside the door.
The sensible next move
The latest expansion is a strong reason to check your address, but not a reason to rush into a poorly planned migration. Confirm eligibility, understand the installation path and decide what performance your household or business genuinely needs.
If you want help turning fibre availability into a practical connection and network plan, contact Capti or check availability. We can start with the address and the way you actually use the internet—then discuss the suitable options available there.
For more detail, read about checking nbn FTTP upgrade eligibility. Explore home internet availability for your location.
