Australian Broadband Data Demand: demand remains high as NBN Co launches virtual community engagement program

• Australian Broadband Data Demand report highlights on the main nbn wholesale service:

o   Weekly download throughput peak of 12.7 Terabits per second (Tbps) recorded on Friday, 15 May during the Evening Busy Hours

o   Weekly upload throughput peak of 0.98 Tbps recorded on Wednesday, 13 May during the Evening Busy Hours

NBN Co has launched a new virtual engagement program to help Australians get the most from their nbn connection, as data demand on the nbn’s main wholesale access service remains high and well above pre-COVID-19 levels.

The virtual engagement program connects nbn ambassadors with customers, particularly some of the most vulnerable members of society, to help customers to get the most out of their internet experience. The announcement of the online program comes as even more Australians are relying on the nbn for their work, education and social needs.

Brad Whitcomb, Chief Customer Officer at NBN Co said: “Each year our ambassadors attend hundreds of events, engaging with customers and giving Australians the opportunity to learn how to make the most of their nbn experience. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent social distancing measures, we’ve quickly moved to online engagement and tutorials.

“Moving our ambassador program to an online delivery model allows us to provide nbn customers with the kind of ‘face to face’ contact they’ve come to depend on, while also ensuring our ambassadors and the community remain safe,” Mr Whitcomb said.

The ambassadors are available for 15-minute, one-on-one sessions run via video conference, or audio if preferred. Further, there is the option of ‘nbn 101’ presentations, held for community groups. More information on both can be found at www.nbnco.com.au/events.

For the week from Monday, 11 May to Sunday, 17 May, peak download throughput (the measure of data flowing through the nbn™ access network) during the busy evening period increased by 15 per cent to 12.7 terabits per second (Tbps) on the main wholesale service, compared to the last week of February (which nbn measures as its normal pre-COVID-19 baseline).

The figures were revealed as part of the most recent Australian Broadband Data Demand report - a weekly insight into the peak throughput recorded in a week during daytime business hours, early evening hours and busy evening hours

For the week beginning Monday, 11 May, peak download throughput compared to the pre-COVID-19 baseline also increased during daytime business hours, up 10 per cent to 8.5Tbps, and during early evening hours, up 14 per cent to 11.2Tbps, on the main nbn wholesale service.

Downstream network usage

Compared to the pre-COVID-19 baseline, peak upload throughput on the main nbn wholesale service in the evening busy hours for the week beginning 11 May increased by 28 per cent to 0.98Tbps; peak upload throughput in the early evening hours increased 38 per cent to 0.94Tbps; and peak throughput during daytime business hours increased by 96 per cent to 0.98Tbps.

Upstream network usage

Compared to the pre-COVID-19 baseline before social distancing measures were implemented, downstream network usage on the nbn main wholesale service during business hours on 15 May 2020 was 58 per cent higher (as shown in the graph below at 11am) than the pre-COVID-19 baseline.

Downstream network usage over 24 hours

Upstream network usage on the nbn main wholesale service during business hours on 15 May 2020 was 106 per cent higher (as shown in the graph below at 11am) than the pre-COVID-19 baseline.

Upstream network usage over 24 hours

The Australian Broadband Data Demand report is updated weekly on nbn’s Transparency dashboard at: www.nbn.com.au/updates

For tips on how to make the most of your nbn connection and to learn more on what NBN Co is doing to support Australia through COVID-19, please visit: www.nbnco.com.au/campaigns/covid-19

Notes to editor:

- These metrics represent the upstream/downstream throughput peak each week, across the following three distinct periods:

o    Business hours - Monday to Friday 8am to 4:59pm

o    Early evening hours - Monday to Sunday 5pm to 7:59pm

o    Evening busy hours - Monday to Sunday 8pm to 11:59pm

- For Business Hours, the peak is determined by taking the highest downstream throughput for our TC-4 service from the busiest 15-minute increment for downstream throughput, and from the busiest 30-minute increment for upstream, between Monday to Friday. The Early Evening Hours and Busy Evening Hours figures are recorded using the same methodology, but over a seven day period.

- TC-4 is nbn’s standard wholesale broadband service that is designed primarily for general internet and standard data services across all access technologies.

- NBN Co considers the throughput peak metric for our TC-4 service as the most appropriate measure for growth in data flowing through the network as it shows when network use is at its highest in each defined period in a week for our wholesale access service most used for residential broadband services.

- This graph shows TC-4 usage (measured in terabits per second for both upstream and downstream) over a 24 hour period (using Australian Eastern Standard/Daylight time on the dates shown in the key). It compares the results from those two dates against a corresponding 24 hour period from nbn’s pre-COVID-19 baseline on 28 February 2020 (the last week of February). Each marker on the x axis represents an hour period in the day. The y axis shows, for each of the 60 minute periods in that 24 hour period:

o    The downstream throughput measure calculated by recording the highest downstream throughput for our TC-4 service from the busiest 15 minute increment in that 60 minute period.

o    The upstream throughput measure calculated by recording the highest upstream throughput for our TC-4 service from the busiest 30 minute increment in that 60 minute period.

- The terabits per second (Tbps) value is rounded to one decimal place. The percentage increase is rounded to the nearest whole number.