Launch of ‘nbn™ local’ team dedicated to regional and remote Australia

nbn furthers commitment to customer experience by working closely with local communities

Introducing nbn™ local, a new team dedicated to improving the customer experience on the nbn™ access network for regional and remote Australia.

Officially launched today, the team is made up of community relations professionals who will focus on educating residents and businesses about the status of the nbn™ access network, what they need to do to connect and what choices they have when switching over.

The nationwide team will spend time on-the-ground in regional locations around the country to better understand the telecommunications needs at a community level. 

nbn™ local will also have an extended team of network engineers and deployment specialists located in key regional hubs around the country to work with customer service representatives to help identify and resolve issues in a timely manner.

The nbn™ access network is more than two-thirds built in regional Australia and continues to gather momentum with up to 100,000 new properties being added to the national footprint each week.

Today’s announcement follows a number of other initiatives from nbn to help improve customer experience including:

• Improved installation experience: accelerated in-house training facilities to provide hands-on experience for field workers with the aim of increasing quality assurance with the installation of the network to homes and businesses.
• Advanced fault detection: leveraging big data, machine learning and existing capabilities to help nbn determine whether a fault can be dealt with remotely and immediately or whether a field technician needs to visit an end-user home to resolve it.
• Enhanced case management: improved process for managing the timeliness of customer responses and resolution activities following escalations by retail service providers as well as ensuring user issues are case managed by nbn if they are not resolved on the second time.
• National awareness campaign: educating Australians about the role of nbn and their retail service provider, the factors at home or work which can improve internet experience,  as well as how to choose a speed and data broadband package that suits their needs.

Peter Gurney, General Manager of nbn™ local

Peter Gurney, General Manager of nbn™ local said:

“The creation of the nbn™ local team is another step in our ongoing commitment to improve the customer experience with the nbn™ access network. We’ll be providing dedicated resources who understand the needs and issues of local communities around the country from Cairns in Far North Queensland to Traralgon in Gippsland to Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.

“The rollout of the nbn™ access network is one of the biggest transformations to Australia’s telecommunications industry to ever occur – it represents significant change for consumers and businesses as they make the move to the new network.”

“With the rollout more than halfway complete and around 3 million homes and businesses now connected to the network, it is more important than ever we continue to educate local communities on the status of the build, what they need to do to connect as well as how to resolve any issues.”

“Although retail service providers should always be the first point of contact for any resident or business having issues with their broadband connection, the new nbn™ local team will be dedicated to working with local stakeholders and community groups to help ensure local problems are identified early and addressed.”

The nbn™ access network currently is available to more than one in two Australians, is scheduled to be three quarters built by mid-next year and complete by 2020. 

Notes to editors

About nbn™:

• nbn is building a new and upgraded, fast wholesale broadband access network to enable communities across Australia to access fast broadband from their retail service provider. Our goal is to connect eight million homes and businesses by 2020.
• The rollout of the nbn™ access network sets the scene for the biggest transformation to Australia’s telecommunications industry involving Retail Service Provider network upgrades and the establishment of a network to provide access to fast broadband to Australians. 
• Connecting to the nbn™ access network is not automatic and is a process which may take some time and preparation. nbn is working with the Service Providers and industry to help them better understand who is responsible for which portions of their internet experience and what steps they can take in order to receive the best possible service.
• The speeds experienced on services over the nbn™ access network are determined by a range of factors such as the technology used to deliver the network as well as some factors outside our control like equipment quality, software, broadband plans, signal reception and how your Service Provider designs their network.
• Fast broadband like that delivered via the nbn™ broadband access network can provide a range of benefits for Australians such as opportunities to work from home, access to online education tools and options for on-demand entertainment.