NBN Co has delivered on its commitment to deliver projects that reduce annual energy use of the nbn^® network by 25 Gigawatt-hours (GWh) by December 2025¹.

As part of its climate mitigation actions, nbn has delivered a series of projects to modernise and make the nbn network more energy efficient.

These include:

• Upgraded 84 Points of Interconnection as part of the Aggregation Network Evolution program to deliver higher capacity and more energy efficient equipment
• Implemented energy saving modes at approximately 2,400 Fixed Wireless towers
• Removed approximately 3,200 legacy Pay TV line power supplies and associated plant equipment from the nbn^® Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) cable network.

These projects are part of NBN Co’s efforts to reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 Greenhouse Gas (GhG) emissions by 95 per cent by FY30, from a FY21 base year² and are included in NBN Co’s Climate Transition Plan.

NBN Co continues to make progress expanding fibre infrastructure to deliver faster, more energy-efficient broadband via full fibre connections to eligible premises, instead of using legacy copper technology.

NBN Co is also focused on energy savings as telecommunications infrastructure evolves. The company previously acquired and selectively upgraded the former legacy cable TV networks to deliver high-speed HFC broadband services.

During the acquisition and transition period, NBN Co agreed to support Pay TV services in both nbn^® HFC and non-HFC broadband service areas.

Co-existence of Pay TV services on the cable network ended in 2023, with Pay TV now widely delivered using internet or satellite.

As a result, infrastructure in non-HFC broadband service areas has been progressively powered off.

In HFC broadband service areas, NBN Co is now able to fully utilise the full cable bandwidth to greatly improve broadband capacity and efficiency.

The company has also enabled energy savings modes across nbn’s Fixed Wireless network in rural and regional areas of Australia.

Through the installation of Ericsson’s innovative Microsleep Tx software on nbn’s 2,400 Fixed Wireless towers, continuous energy savings are enabled, particularly during low traffic periods.

Overall power consumption of radio units on nbn’s Fixed Wireless towers have been reduced by 5 per cent and nbn expects to save 3.75 GWh worth of energy annually, which is the equivalent of powering approximately 700 Australian homes.

Guy Scott, Chief Technology Officer at NBN Co, said:

“nbn is delivering a more sustainable network with faster speeds and greater energy-efficiency including rolling out new fibre across the nation.

“Our target of saving 25 GWh per annum by December 2025¹ was set in 2021, and we are delighted to have met this milestone as it is enabling us to reduce our emissions and reduce our costs.

“This is all part of our actions to meet our science-based emissions reduction targets, our ongoing efforts to increase energy efficiency and purchasing renewable energy sources.”

NBN Co is also expanding fibre deeper into communities to help build a more climate-resilient and energy efficient network. This can enable long-term reductions in power demand across the nbn network and provides improved resilience for customers.

Already more than 9.8 million homes and businesses are eligible for these accelerated speeds, rising to more than 10 million by the end of the year that will be capable of accessing multi-gigabit wholesale speeds. nbn Home Ultrafast³ wholesale speeds will be ~1000/100 Mbps, and nbn Home Hyperfast⁴ wholesale speeds will offer 2000/200 Mbps for those with FTTP connections.

In January 2025, nbn announced it will upgrade the remaining Fibre to the Node services across Australia, backed by an equity investment of up to $3 billion from the Australian Government, in addition to more than $800 million from NBN Co.

This investment will benefit around 622,000 homes and businesses across the country, with more than half located in regional Australia. It is expected that more than 95 per cent of these homes and businesses will have the option to upgrade to nbn full fibre via nbn Fibre to the Premises. The remaining five per cent require further design work to confirm the appropriate upgrade path.⁵

NBN Co’s total outstanding green or sustainable financing now stands at over A$8.6 billion equivalent, cementing its position as the largest Australian corporate issuer in green and sustainability format in the domestic and international debt capital markets.

Net proceeds from Green Bond issuances are allocated to eligible green projects related to the build out of fibre in the network, as fibre is significantly more energy efficient for nbn than copper.

Footnotes

1. Annual Report 2025
2. Statement of Corporate Intent
3. Regardless of the retail service purchased, the actual speeds delivered will be less than 1 Gbps due to equipment and network limitations. Home Ultrafast on HFC will be subject to service qualification.
4. Service availability including timing will depend on phone and internet providers offering nbn^® Hyperfast and is subject to service qualification.
5. nbn is committed to undertaking design work with the aim of providing an upgraded wholesale broadband service.
   

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