Question 1 of 5Upgrade
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- Upgrade
- Box
- Pipe
- Rooms
- Area
Upgrade bill calculator
The fibre upgrade is free. Here's what households end up paying for.
NBN's part of the fibre upgrade costs nothing. The pipe from the street, where the box goes and the cable to the room you need it in are yours. Price your own in a minute, from the rates we quote on.
Is the fibre upgrade really free?
Yes, NBN’s part is. On an eligible address, with a plan that qualifies, NBN’s installer brings the fibre from the street, fits the box outside and the box inside, and connects it. You don’t pay NBN for that.
What isn’t included is anything on your side of the job that the installer can’t use or won’t do. NBN’s own guide for upgrades says that if you want the fibre to come in a different way, the pathway is built “at their own expense”, meaning yours. Three things come up again and again.
The three things that cost money
- The pipe from the street. Fibre comes in through the old pipe your phone line used. If it’s collapsed, blocked with roots, or was never there, the installer can’t pull the fibre through and the job stops until a new one is laid. Who owns the pipe, by connection type.
- Where the box goes. The installer puts the inside box where the fibre comes in easily, near a power point. That’s often the garage, the front bedroom or a kitchen cupboard, not the middle of the house where your wifi needs to start. Choosing the spot and leaving a path to it before the day is the cheap way. Moving it afterwards is a job in its own right.
- The cable to where you need it. Once the box is in, everything after it is yours. If the router can’t sit next to the box, a data cable from the box to the right room is what fixes the wifi, not a stronger router.
Four real-world examples
We priced four common situations with the same rules we quote on. Your house will be different, which is why the calculator is at the top of the page.
| Case | What was needed | Our side |
|---|---|---|
| The box landed in the garage | Single storey, room under the floor. The upgrade's done and the box is in the garage. The router needs to be in the lounge. Two ways to fix it: | Move the box to the lounge: $1,380 to $1,760Or leave the box and run one cable to the lounge: $610 to $710 |
| An office upstairs, sorted before the install | Two storeys. The upgrade is booked and the box would land downstairs at the front. They want it upstairs in the study, and leave the pipe for NBN's installer. | $1,740 to $2,210 |
| The old pipe collapsed under the lawn | The installer couldn't finish: the pipe from the street is broken under about 10 metres of grass. Box position's fine. | $1,830 to $2,430 |
| The lot | Not booked yet. No usable pipe under a lawn, the box needs to go to the other side of the house, and three rooms need a cable. Single storey on a slab. | $6,300 to $7,920 |
The pattern is the same every time. The upgrade itself is $0. The extras run from one short visit to a day or more, and the biggest saving comes from sorting the box position and the pipe before NBN’s installer arrives.
Do it before the install, not after
If your upgrade isn’t booked yet, you have the cheapest option there is. Pick where you want the box: central, near a power point, somewhere a router can live. Then have a pipe with a draw string run from where the outside box will go to that spot. On the day, NBN’s installer pulls the fibre through and fits the box where you chose. Plan the spot for your house.
Do it afterwards and it’s a box move: the same pathway, plus taking down and refitting a working box, plus a longer fibre lead. The calculator shows you the difference for your house.
What NBN asks for if you build the path yourself
If you or your cabler lay the pipe, NBN’s guide (opens in a new tab) is specific, and an installer can refuse a path that doesn’t meet it:
- Rigid white P20 conduit, not orange or corrugated.
- Buried at least 300 mm deep, or 450 mm under a driveway, and no deeper than 500 mm.
- No more than two 90-degree bends outside, with a wide bend radius.
- A nylon draw string in it, sealed at both ends.
- The inside box within 1.2 metres of a power point.
NBN also recommends not digging a new lead-in before one of its technicians has looked, because in some streets it can’t use an underground path even when it meets the rules. That’s worth a phone call before anyone picks up a shovel.
If you’d rather not run a cable
Sometimes a cable isn’t practical: a slab, double brick, a rental. A good mesh wifi kit, with one unit beside the box and the others spread through the house, often does the job. Which mesh systems we fit, and why. Powerline adapters are another option in some houses: powerline or mesh?
Frequently asked questions
Is the NBN fibre upgrade free?
NBN's part is, on an eligible address with a qualifying plan. Work on your side, like a new pipe from the street, moving the box or running cable inside, isn't part of it.
Who pays if the pipe from the street is blocked?
If the installer can't use the existing pipe, the pathway on your property is usually yours to fix before they come back. It depends on where the blockage is, so check who owns the lead-in first.
Can I choose where the NBN box goes?
You can ask, and the installer will try to accommodate reasonable requests within NBN's rules. The surest way is a ready pipe and draw string to the spot you want, and the request in writing to your provider before the day.
How much does it cost to move the NBN box after the upgrade?
It depends on how far it goes and the route. Along the same wall it's a short job; across the house or upstairs it's usually a full day. The calculator at the top of this page prices yours.
Do I need a registered cabler?
For anything that goes in a wall, a ceiling or a pipe in the ground, yes. When you need a cabling licence.
Need this fixed rather than explained?
This is written from the field. When the fault needs a technician on site, this is where to go next.