Individual Premises Switch – What is involved?

Update April 2019 – This process has now changed. Please see the NBNCo Technology Choice Individual Premises Application Factsheet.

We often get asked how much will this cost. Unfortunately, it is difficult to answer as NBN is the only provider of the capability, and they ultimately set the price on a house by house basis based on a Design and Quote process.

Initial analysis has shown that as a community, if we collaborate together with the project, we can reduce costs to individual premises significantly.

Summary of Individual Premises Switch – NBN Technology Choice Program

Source: http://www.nbnco.com.au/connect-home-or-business/technology-choice-program/individual-premises-switch.html (as of Jan 2015)

  • A house in a suburban street with existing FTTN technology can apply for FTTP technology.
  • A group of houses in a suburban street with existing FTTN looking to change to FTTP with an authorised representative.

To manage expectations regarding application eligibility, please review the following information that nbn considers with each application;

  • Individual Premises Switch cannot be used to bring forward the proposed installation schedule;
  • In FTTN and FTTB areas, applications will only be processed once the originally planned network has been deployed to the premises;
  • The extent to which Individual Premises Switch can be performed within nbn’s existing design and construction regime;
  • The availability of third-party infrastructure and its relative cost;
  • The timing of the application and proximity to already constructed nbn™ infrastructure.
Individual Premises Switch Financial Contribution

Price Adjustments 

If nbn receives multiple Individual Premises Switch applications in the same location, this may result in lower infrastructure cost per applicant as there may be an opportunity to share the infrastructure.

For example, in a street serviced by Fibre to the Node (FTTN), the incremental cost of building Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) may include local fibre infrastructure, and the applicant will bear this cost. Subsequent Individual Premises Switch applications may be able to utilise this new local fibre infrastructure, which may reduce the cost of subsequent Individual Switches.

Below is an example of a scenario where price adjustments may occur:

property 1

Property 1 incurs the full cost of the switch from the closest fibre boundary.

property 3

Property 2 applies for an Individual Premises Switch prior to the completion of the construction for property 1. Property 2 pays for the cost of the new Switch plus part of the initial Switch cost for property 1. The applicant for property 1 receives a price adjustment on the original quote.

property 2

Property 3 applies for a Switch under Individual Premises Switch prior to the completion of the Switch for properties 1 and 2. Property 3 pays the cost of the new Switch plus part of the costs incurred for properties 1 and 2. The owners of properties 1 and 2 will receive a price adjustment on their last quote.

Price adjustments will only be assessed when subsequent Individual Premises Switch deposit payments are received prior to the construction completion of the original Individual Premises Switch.

It is important to note that nbn may only prepare quotes based on an individual request for connection. If there are multiple Individual Premises Switch applicants along the same route (in the same street or area), we may only be able to provide a firm (pro-rata) cost when we receive all relevant applicants’ deposits. We may then either:

  • recalculate payments;
  • issue a price adjustment on further instalments if payments are incomplete;
  • issue refunds if there are any overpayments as a result of subsequent accepted applications on the same route.
Summary of fees

Once an application is submitted it will be assessed for eligibility and an application fee is required to perform high level cost estimation.

The below table sets out a summary of the applicable fees for an Area Switch or Individual Premises Switch:

Fees & Payments
Area Switch Individual Premises Switch What does this provide?
Application fee (if eligible) $1,100 per FDA*
(incl GST)
$330
(incl GST)
Cost Estimation
This consists of the cost estimation range of the build
Design and Quote fee Upon application $330
(incl GST)
Build Quote
This consists of the incremental costs to build (such as design, construction and project management), as well as the contract
Build Payments As per Build Quote As per Build Quote Construction of the network as per Build Quote
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