Aussie welcomes NBN plans to offer 40% more CVC in response to COVID-19
Media Release | Thursday 19 Mar 2020 | 2 min read
Aussie Broadband has welcomed NBN plans to offer up to 40% more CVC for the next three months in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
It follows concerns over increased data demand as a growing number of Australians are expected to work from home in the coming weeks.
Managing Director, Phil Britt said today’s announcement is good news but that the company hasn’t seen a significant surge in demand just yet.
“It’s great to see NBN supporting the industry and the community if the demand for bandwidth spikes upwards during the crisis,” Phil said.
“Currently, we’re not seeing the need right at this instant for an extra 40% of bandwidth, but if it does rise, it gives us and other telcos peace of mind that we can deal with it without incurring extra costs.
“I think this gives the industry some breathing space to allow us to focus on other critical issues, like providing customer service when call centre staff have to work from home,” he said.
The CVC Boost program will allow internet service providers (ISPs) to order extra connectivity virtual circuit (CVC) over the next 3 months for the same price as what they paid in February.
On Monday, Aussie Broadband announced a range of measures in response to COVID-19, including assistance for customers required to work from home.
Phil said the company’s network is already set up to meet the highest levels of traffic it sees every week – usually Sunday and Monday nights, when many people are home.
“We will upgrade as necessary if we see peaks beyond our normal high range, but we believe we are reasonably well set-up to cope,” he said.
Aussie Broadband already publishes daily CVC graphs live, so that customers can see at a glance whether its network is congested or not.
From 18 March 2020, the company also started:
Providing unmetered data usage between 6am-6pm for all customers on limited data NBN and ADSL plans
Enabling any of its few remaining customers on 12/1 speed plans to change onto a 25/5 plan to help them work from home if required
Temporarily stopping all service suspensions due to late payments
The company will continue to offer its range of services for customers who are experiencing financial hardship, including payment plans, via the MyAussie® app.
Phil said he was pleased with the NBN CVC Boost program and that it provided some relief in the coming months.
“I think this move by NBN shows great leadership in helping to provide certainty to telcos and to their customers. In a time of crisis, certainty is invaluable,” Phil said.
All information contained in this media release, including references to costs, speed, and capability of the Aussie Broadband network, was correct at time of publication, and may have since changed.
About Aussie Broadband Limited
Aussie Broadband Group is a fast-growing technology services provider – comprising of the Aussie Broadband and Symbio businesses – with a market cap of around $1 billion (AUD).
Listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX: ABB), the Group collectively supplies more than 1 million services, operates two Tier 1 voice providers in Australia and owns fibre infrastructure.
The fifth largest provider of broadband services in Australia with continuing growth in the residential segment, the Group provides a broad suite of solutions through its data, voice, and managed solutions to business, enterprise and government customers. Aussie Broadband Group also provides wholesale services to other telecommunications companies and managed service providers.
For further information please visit: www.aussiebroadband.com.au