NBN has formally launched its 50/20 megabits per second speed tier for fixed wireless, the company said this morning.
NBN began a customer pilot with the new speed tier earlier this year.
Previously the maximum speed available to end uses on the LTE-based fixed wireless service was 25/5Mbps.
The upgrade to the service was possible without any additional capital investment from the company.
“Following the launch of Sky Muster, NBN’s first satellite, this milestone is yet another critical part of our plan to help bridge the nation’s digital divide,” said NBN’s fixed wireless and satellite executive general manager, Gavin Williams.
Sky Muster launched in October.
“We’re closer than ever before to being on a level playing field between the city and the bush by providing kids in rural areas with access to digital textbooks, farmers with the latest technology and creating a world of new possibilities for regional small businesses,” Williams said in a statement.
NBN aims to have the tower build for the fixed wireless service largely completed by 2018.
The service will ultimately provide broadband services to some 590,000 services (representing about 5 per cent of the total network rollout).
NBN’s updated corporate plan, released in August, said the fixed wireless service had reached 268,000 premises and had 47,000 active services.
Fixed wireless is being rolled out under a contract with Ericsson, which also provides managed services to activate customers and maintain the network.