Internode launches NBN phone services

Internode has released pricing plans for fibre phone services on the National Broadband Network (NBN), with all calls to landlines in Australia priced at a flat rate of 18 cents.

The UNI-V port on the NBN’s network termination unit comprises a built-in analog phone adaptor to allow PSTN-type phone services, which premises will use once the copper network has been switched off in their area when the NBN is available.

Internode carried out trials of the service around a year ago with residents in the early release areas of Brunswick, Kiama, Willunga, Armidale and Townsville.

“The trial involved testing back-end processes (both technical and operational) – including those associated with porting numbers from the copper network," Jim Kellett, product manager at Internode, told Computerworld Australia.

"Other systems developments involved activating, managing and billing for the services within our systems and ensuring the correct data flowed through to the NBN Co systems involved in provisioning and managing the wholesale UNI-V technology."

Kellett said few problems were reported with the trial.

“At the customer’s premises, it’s simply a managed analog telephone adapter, and [it] works well. In the network, the phone service is built on a large, robust and well-proven platform that is also used for our entire NodePhone VoIP range. So it was mostly a case of setting up processes that work for customers and automated interfaces between our systems and NBN Co systems,” Kellett said.

Internode’s NBN fibre phone service costs $29.95 per month, plus call costs, and a $49 set-up fee, which is waived on 24-month contracts.

Follow Stephanie McDonald on Twitter: @stephmcdonald0

Follow Computerworld Australia on Twitter: @ComputerworldAU