NBN Co targets enterprise sector with new wholesale offering

NBN Co has launched a new wholesale enterprise product operating at symmetrical speeds of up to 1Gbps^* with premium customer service experience over the nbn™ broadband access network.

nbn™ Enterprise Ethernet connections are designed to be built on request and includes a point-to-point fibre connection. It will be packaged with a premium service-level agreement between NBN Co and retail providers to offer faster resolution of faults and to encourage retailers to offer an increased service experience for mission-critical applications.

NBN Co has worked with a number of service providers in the past year, consulting on and testing the design, build and processes to ensure this is a compelling product for retailers to sell to Australian enterprise customers.

The company today also launched a trial of new premium business-grade appointments, another step in a series of customer experience measures, to help increase certainty of appointment times for businesses and reduce disruption to critical operations.

This update follows the launch of NBN Co’s Business Operations Centre, which has dedicated case managers who work with retailers to help resolve incidents and faults for business customers.

NBN Co’s Chief Customer Officer for Business Paul Tyler said:

“We are pleased to announce the launch of nbn™ Enterprise Ethernet, which equips us to better service all ends of the market along with our existing wholesale business-grade product suite.

“This wholesale product has been developed with the specific needs of global enterprise and government organisations in mind. It is capable of delivering the service required by businesses that use data-intensive applications such enterprise network systems and cloud-based solutions.

“nbn™ Enterprise Ethernet is designed to meet an international standard capability set by the Metro Ethernet Forum, which means the new product can also benefit geographically dispersed sites through a seamless integration of networks between offices across the world.

“We understand that businesses require a tailored service for their unique needs and today’s announcement is further evidence of our ongoing investment to improve customer experience and develop custom products that meet the needs of all Australian businesses.

“To ensure businesses understand what products are available to them, we have launched a new public awareness campaign to educate the market on the full capabilities of the nbn™ access network so they are better informed to choose a suitable retail plan based on their unique requirements.

“We will continue our efforts to evolve our product and service suite for businesses to ensure we are offering a compelling and valuable proposition to market.  This includes the development of a new business-grade satellite service targeted towards farmers and industries with rural operations in the oil, mining and gas sector, as well as new wholesale discounts, which bundle higher speeds and enhanced service assurance at a single charge. Our team will share further details on these in the coming months.”

There are now more than 450,000 businesses connected to services over the nbn™ access network, with an average of 20,000 new businesses added to NBN Co’s footprint each month. The rollout is on track to be complete by 2020.

Note to editors

• ^* Regardless of the retail service you purchase, the actual wholesale speeds delivered by the nbn™ Enterprise Ethernet product will be less than 1000 Mbps due to equipment and network limitations. Your experience, including the speeds actually achieved over the nbn™ access network, depends on some factors outside our control (like your equipment quality, software, and how your service provider designs its network). If your service provider has not selected a bandwidth in the highest of three classes of service available for nbn™ Enterprise Ethernet, the speeds you experience may be affected by contention on the nbn™ access network, particularly in busy periods.
• nbn™ Enterprise Ethernet is designed to be a Layer 2 Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) CE2.0 and MEF 33-compliant service. Visit the MEF website for more information regarding certification.
• This product is designed to be delivered over a fibre network that uses a point-to-point fibre connection between an end user’s premises and a fibre access node on the nbn™ access network, available wherever NBN Co has declared the nbn™ fixed line footprint to be ready for service.
• NBN Co is a wholesale provider and does not set retail prices. The wholesale price for services will vary based on a range of factors such as location, bandwidth and class of service.