Our reliance on the NBN has never been greater since the start of the pandemic and the restrictions which forced most of us to work and learn from home while still staying connected to our loved ones and keeping ourselves entertained.
But are you getting the best results with your NBN connection?
Is there anything you can do to improve your speeds and work securely?
The NBN has just released a series of tips to help Australians get even more out of their connection.
“We know it’s really difficult for many people across Australia right now and we want to continue to do what we can to provide support,” says NBN Co Spokesperson, Jane McNamara.
“We got a great response when we put out our COVID education campaign back in 2020 when we were all getting used to working and living remotely.
“Between March 2020 and the end of June this year, more than 1.5 million Australians connected to services over the NBN and 2.5 million customers upgraded their plan with their retail provider to take even better advantage of the benefits of broadband connectivity.
“We hope these latest tips will provide useful advice for the community to help them continue to get the most of the NBN network.”
“Following the introduction of lockdowns in NSW and Victoria, national data demand across the NBN network peaked on the evening of Saturday 17 July at 20.39 terabits per second or the equivalent of downloading more than 500 high-definition movies in a single second.”
Here are the NBN’s top five tips to get the most out of your NBN connection.
MAKE SURE YOU’VE GOT THE SPEED TO SUIT YOUR NEEDS.
NBN customers have a choice of plants so it’s important to find the one that suits your needs and usage.
During the COVID lockdown, our household internet usage increased dramatically.
It’s a good idea to call your NBN provider and discuss your family’s needs, the number of devices you have connected and how you’re using the Internet to see if you have the right plan.
FIND A PLAN THAT SUITS YOUR WORK NEEDS
Most home NBN plans are geared towards streaming movies and music, playing online games and web browsing and already have good download speeds.
But when you’re working from home there is often a greater need for uploading files and joining video calls so finding a plan with greater upload speeds and download speeds might help you work more efficiently and be even more productive.
CHECK YOUR IN-HOME SET-UP
It’s one thing to have a good NBN plan but you also have to make sure your home Wi-Fi network is up to the job.
No modem or router can make the NBN come in to your house any faster but you can certainly improve the speed in which data is wirelessly transmitted in your home.
Having a mesh Wi-Fi system can ensure your home wireless network is consistent and fast across your entire home whether you’re streaming content, playing a game or getting some work done.
Just because you’re not working from the office shouldn’t mean your data is less secure.
Ask your company to use their VPN (virtual private network) wherever possible to ensure your internet connection is safe and secure whether you’re downloading or uploading.
Be sure to run any software updates, create strong passwords and enable two factor authentication wherever possible for added security.
PROTECT YOURSELF FROM SCAMS
The NBN will never ever make robo calls and will also never call to access your computer or advise that you are going to be disconnected.
So knowing that, if you do receive such a call you will know instantly that it’s a scam.
Do not share any financial or personal information with any unsolicited callers.
If in doubt about a caller, hang up and call your retail service provider on their official listed customer service centre number to check if the call is legitimate.
This week the NBN announced it would be providing COVID-19 credit relief, which totals $5.2 million, to eligible internet retailers so they can provide additional data to help meet increased demand for broadband services during the ongoing lockdown in NSW, Victoria and South Australia in July 2021.
“To ensure Australians continue to enjoy a good customer experience, we’ve redoubled our efforts to support customers and the industry,” says McNamara.
“This relief payment for internet retailers helps cover the cost of additional data brought on by the incremental increase in usage during the peak evening entertainment hours and to help to ensure they do not fall short of their customers’ data demands during these state-specific lockdowns.”
