Independent FTTP upgrade cabling · Not NBN Co, not an ISP
NBN says the cable path is up to you. FTTP upgrade cabling, before their visit or after it.
The fibre upgrade is booked and the box is headed for the garage, or the installer looked at the roof and stopped at the wall. Their part ends at the box. One quote covers the FTTP upgrade cabling on your side, so the fibre goes where the house needs it. Quotes are free within 5 km of our Sutherland Shire office. Phone or photo estimates are free where the job allows.
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Sydney Sider
★★★★★★★★★★ Outstanding fibre installation in Sydney CBD Secure A Com handled our Sydney CBD fibre installation with real expertise. The team was very knowledgeable and thoroughly professional from start to finish. Everything was explained clearly and the work was completed to a high standard. Highly recommend Secure A Com for anyone needing reliable fibre installation in the CBD. Speak to Jason as he is the go to for everything. We sent photos and he was able to diagnose the situation without having to be on site. All sorted! 🍀✨👌🙏
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Sarah Pieresko
★★★★★We were really impressed with Jason from Secure A COM! Our building was a tricky one, and the installation kept hitting roadblocks. Jason’s “can-do” attitude and problem-solving skills meant he was able to find a suitable solution without compromising on quality. He was professional, provided excellent customer service, and went above and beyond to get the job done. We highly recommend Secure A COM to anyone looking for a reliable and professional service!
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john ascott
★★★★★Excellent in every way, from the website, communication, quality of workmanship, price, knowledge and a genuinely nice bloke. Highest recommendation.
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Bruce Ashton
★★★★★Easy to book online and Jason turns up on time and listens to what you want done and does the job using quality components. Recommend this company highly.
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Dean C (Cosmic)
★★★★★We've had 2 jobs recently with Secure a Com and both have been completed to our total satisfaction. The first one involved a failed NBN installation due to the inability of the NBN technician to find the original Telstra lead-in cable. Jason sorted the cable issue out within an hour and wired a new connection in the house to make it NBN ready for us. This meant the second NBN installation went off without a hitch much to our relief. Our second experience was rewiring some LAN ports to connect our security system's cameras to the new NBN router to allow us to access the cameras online. Jason was great to deal with and did both jobs very professionally. We highly recommend Secue a Com's services.
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LUKE MCMAHON
★★★★★Quite possibly the only positive thing when doing NBN , I rang these guys after 7 months of drama with Telstra I was in a desperate need and the owner commented that he could tell I needed someone to do their job.... he then moved a bunch of work around and made me an appointment the very next day. I rang at 4pm and the appointment was set for 12pm and to my amaze the technician was 2 hours early. the technician "Jason" was a true blue good guy and was really knowledgeable and helpful when I was asking his opinion on the location of the item. this will not be the only review I write I cannot recommend Secure A Com more highly
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Nicholas Paneras
★★★★★Jason came on time, told him NBN could not find the lead in cable and I would need a new lead in cable set up. Jason found it in 5 min and save a minimum $4000. Thanks Jason
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Jim McVey
★★★★★Excellent communications and service. Jason found a difficult job and managed to get the primary need finished in a quite short timeframe, with a second visit arranged to finish off.
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Sound familiar?
“The customer to arrange the fibre cable”
The fibre upgrade is booked and the box is headed for the garage. Or the installer came, looked at the roof and stopped.
The path on your side of the box is cabling, and it's ours: built before their visit so they can finish, or after it so they can come back and connect.
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The NBN appointment is tomorrow and the box is going to land in the garage. Or the installer came yesterday, did the inspection, and could not upgrade: the cable pathway is outside NBN guidelines because of the colorbond roof, and the customer is to arrange the cable. Or you are already on fibre, the signal is strong outside and weak in the garage where the box sits, and the inside of the house needs to catch up.
Three people ring about the fibre upgrade, and this page has a section for each. What they share is that NBN’s installer got to a wall and stopped, which happens on some jobs and not others, depending who turns up. The path from that wall to where the house needs the box is cabling, and cabling is ours. Some installers put the inside box exactly where you ask; a conduit already in place with a draw wire settles it either way. Eligibility is NBN’s question: check your address with NBN (opens in a new tab).
Free advice
Before NBN comes: what to do first
People ring us before the NBN appointment and this is what we tell them, for nothing. Sort it out first and you are not paying to undo it afterwards.
Keep this list handy
Get all nine checks as a one-page PDF before the NBN appointment.
Send me the free guide- Find out NBN’s plan before they arrive. Ask the installer or look at the site plan. They put the outside box where the lead-in comes up and the inside box where the shortest path lands, usually the garage. Cheaper to fix before the appointment than after.
- Mark the wall with an X. Tell NBN where the inside box goes, in writing and on the wall, so nobody changes their mind on the day. What the box does and where it belongs is in our guide to the NBN connection box.
- Pre-wire, then delay NBN a week or two. A conduit from the outside box position, up under the eaves, through the ceiling and down into the cupboard where the box will live, with a draw wire in it, and the installer pulls the fibre through in minutes.
- If the installer won’t route it your way, have them leave the box and the cable where they land. Get connected. We move it afterwards: that is NBN box relocation.
- Old conduit is a gamble. A fifteen-year-old narrow conduit with right-angle bends or a bellyful of mud will likely not take fibre, and NBN will likely want new. The “dig it yourself, we lay the conduit” section of the NBN conduit installation page is where that goes.
- Don’t extend the box on one old cable. Moving the inside box upstairs on a single old cable puts a bottleneck on a gigabit service. Leave the box where the fibre lands, put a switch beside it, and run proper cable to the rooms: data cabling.
- Fibre is replaced, not spliced. If the lead is too short for the new position, it is a new lead. Photos and a distance tell us which.
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- Granny flat: register the address first. NBN provisions to a registered address; council does the registration, then the provider, then us for the cable from the house. The full version is in NBN for a granny flat.
- Send photos and a distance. Most upgrade cabling is quoted from three photos and a number of metres, no visit.
Recognise it?
Where your upgrade is up to, and what we do about it
The appointment is coming and nothing is ready
The appointment is coming and you already know the box will land in the garage. This is the cheap week to sort it.
Usually points to: the path and the box position settled before anyone turns up.
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The NBN appointment is tomorrow or next week, and you have already worked out the box is going to land in the garage. That is what usually happens: the outside box goes where the lead-in comes up, the inside box goes where the shortest path from it lands, and nobody is asked where the router should live.
This is the cheap week. A conduit from the outside box position, up under the eaves and down into the cupboard where the box should go, with a draw wire in it, turns the run into a few minutes' work on the day.
What you end up with. The path and the box position settled before anyone turns up, so the installer has a pathway to pull the fibre through instead of a wall to stop at, and an X on the wall saying where the box goes.
What to do before the appointment ›The five versions of this job ›
The installer came, and could not finish
The installer looked at the roof, or couldn't find the old conduit, and stopped. The note says the fibre cable is yours to arrange.
Usually points to: the path finished, so the return visit can be booked.
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The inspection happened and the upgrade did not. The cable pathway is outside NBN guidelines because of the colorbond roof, or nobody could find where the old conduit enters, or it is blocked, bent or full of mud. The note says the customer is to arrange the fibre cable, which is where this page comes in.
The installer is allowed to stop at that wall, and on some jobs they do. The run from it is cabling on your side of the boundary, which makes it ours rather than theirs.
What you end up with. The path finished the way the house allows, through the roof, along the outside wall in conduit or across the slab in surface duct, so the return visit can be booked and the service connected.
What usually stops the installer ›The five versions of this job ›
You are on fibre and the box is in the garage
You're on fibre, it works, and the box is in the garage on the far side of the house. Moving it on one old cable would bottleneck a fast plan.
Usually points to: the box left where the fibre lands, and proper cable to the rooms.
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The upgrade went in, the service works, and the signal is strong outside and weak in the room you actually sit in. The box is in the garage on the far side of the house, the router is next to it, and on a slab there is no underfloor run to get either of them anywhere better.
Moving the box upstairs on one old cable is the wrong answer, because a single old run is a bottleneck on a gigabit service. The box stays where the fibre lands, a switch goes beside it, and proper cable goes out to the rooms.
What you end up with. The inside run put where the house needs it, with a data point in each room that wants one. Where moving the box really is the answer, that is quoted as well and you choose on price.
The five versions of this job ›When moving the box is the answer ›
A unit block, or a granny flat with no lead
The fibre stops at the comms cupboard on your floor, or the flat out the back has no lead from the house.
Usually points to: the run from the cupboard to your door, or across the yard to the flat.
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The block is being upgraded and the plan for it is not one anybody living there would have drawn. The fibre stops at the comms cupboard on the floor and nobody has run the lead into the apartment, or the building's frame is on the far side of the block from your door.
Out the back it is the same shape of problem. The flat has no cable from the house, or the wrong one, and a service is provisioned to a registered address: the council registers the flat, then a provider can order, then the cable is ours.
What you end up with. The run from the comms cupboard to your door, surface-mounted where the slab allows nothing else, or the run across the yard to the flat. Strata approval is yours to get and we tell you what to ask for.
The usual suspects
What usually stops the installer
- The path is “outside guidelines”.
A Colorbond roof, a slab or double brick on the route, and the installer is allowed to stop.
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Colorbond roof, no cavity, a concrete slab, a double-brick wall on the route. The installer is allowed to stop, and does.
- They can’t find where the conduit enters.
Rendered over, under a deck, or plastered over in a renovation.
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Rendered over, under a deck, behind brick, plastered over in a renovation.
- The old conduit is blocked or bent.
Mud, sharp elbows, or a section crushed under the driveway.
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Mud, sharp elbows, a crushed section under the driveway.
- The box landed in the garage
On a slab, on the far side of the house from the router.
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on the opposite side of the house from the router, on a slab, so no underfloor run.
- The wrong cable inside.
Ethernet where coax was needed, or the other way round.
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A builder ran ethernet where coax was expected, or the reverse.
- A unit block.
The fibre stops at the comms cupboard and nobody has run it to your door.
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The fibre stops at a comms cupboard on the floor and nobody has run the lead into the apartment.
- Safety.
A wet roof or no access, and the job is put off to another day.
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A wet roof, no access, “come back another day”.
- A new build.
No conduit from the pit, or one that ends at a wall with nothing inside it.
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No conduit from the pit at all, or one that ends at a wall with nothing inside it.
Choosing the spot?
Where NBN puts the box, and what you can ask for
The installer puts the inside box where the shortest path lands, usually the garage, unless the easy path is the one you want. An X on the wall and a conduit with a draw wire in it make it the easy path.
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The outside box goes where the lead-in comes up, and the inside box goes where the shortest path from it lands, which is usually the garage. Nobody is asked where the router should live, because that is not the question the installer is answering. Some installers will put the inside box exactly where you ask, and some will not: it depends who turns up, which is why the answer is to make the easy path the one you want.
That is what an X on the wall and a conduit with a draw wire in it do. Ask for the position in writing before the day, mark it on the wall, and have a pathway already there for the installer to pull the fibre through. Where that is not possible, the next best thing is to let them land the box wherever their rules allow, get connected, and move it afterwards: that is NBN box relocation, and it is quoted the same way.
Who does what?
What NBN’s installer does, and what we do
NBN's installer brings the fibre to the box and connects it, and we never touch their network. Everything from that box into the house is cabling, and that's ours: the conduit, the run, and the data point where the router goes.
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NBN’s installer brings the fibre from the street to the outside box, fits the inside box and connects the service. That work is theirs, on their network, and we do not touch it. Eligibility, the appointment and what the upgrade itself costs are all theirs too.
Everything from that box into the house is cabling on your side of it, and that is ours: the conduit the path needs, the run through the roof or the wall, the data point where the router will live, the sockets in the rooms. We build the path before their visit so the installer can finish, or we build the part they stopped at afterwards so your provider can book the return visit. Neither of us does the other’s half, which is exactly why the upgrade stalls at a wall so often.
How it works
What we do, by where the upgrade is up to
Where you are up to decides the job, so the five versions below are the five ways people arrive here. Every one of them ends with the fibre connected and the router where the house needs it. Phone line dead after the upgrade: the phone runs through the router now, and we re-terminate the old sockets if wanted. Already on FTTP and it is broken rather than badly placed: that is the NBN Technician page.
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Before NBN comes: pre-wire.
Conduit from the outside box position to the inside box position with a draw wire in it, the box positions agreed with the installer, and a data point where the router will live. NBN pulls the fibre through it and connects.
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NBN came and stopped: finish the path.
The run they would not do: through the roof, along the outside wall in conduit, across the slab in surface duct, whatever the house actually allows. Then your provider books the return visit to connect.
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It is in the wrong place: leave the box, cable the house.
A switch beside the box, cable out to the rooms, and the router where the house needs it. Cheaper than moving the box; where moving it is the right answer, NBN box relocation covers that.
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New build and granny flat: the lead-in and the inside run.
Conduit from the pit, a draw wire in it, the path through the house and the sockets at the end of it. NBN ties their cable to our draw wire on the day.
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Unit block: from the comms cupboard to your door.
In a unit, the run from the comms cupboard to your door, and we tell you what to ask strata for.
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The lead from the floor's fibre point into the apartment, surface-mounted where the slab allows nothing else. Strata approval is yours to get and we tell you what to ask for; building managers start with fibre to the building.
Written by customers on Google. None are paid for, and every word here is theirs.
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Reviews
What people say after the job.
“NBN couldn’t get a lead cable down our conduit. But secureacom were able to get this done in less than an hour. Great professional job which saved us from NBN having to dig up 20 meters of our yard which would have been a nightmare.”
A real job from the field
Yowie Bay, NSW · FTTP · Filmed on site, 5 min
She wanted the new NBN box in her office, and the conduit had never been run.
A fibre to the curb home in Yowie Bay, opting into the fibre upgrade. We ran conduit from where the lead-in arrives, over the fence and round two bends, through the wall into the office, and pulled the fibre lead through to where the box would sit. It was ready for NBN's visit that afternoon.
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Yowie Bay, in the Sutherland Shire, a fibre to the curb home opting into the fibre upgrade. The customer wanted the new NBN box in her office, and the conduit to that spot had not been run on the earlier visits.
Conduit was run from where the lead-in arrives at the house, up and over the fence and round two bends in flexible conduit, then through the wall into the office. The fibre lead was taped on and pulled through to the point where the box would sit, with the spare length left coiled outside for the connection.
It was left ready for NBN’s visit that afternoon to fit the box, and the same day’s work also set up a mesh system for the house.
Price
What does FTTP upgrade cabling cost?
Quoted not fixed
What's included
- Free quote within 5 km
- Free estimate from photos
- Written quote, valid 14 days
- 12-month cabling warranty
- Maker's warranty on parts
Free Spaces account with every job, if you want one. What's Spaces?
You pay for the path on your side of the box. NBN's part of the upgrade is theirs, and we never price it. Cabling done before their visit is the cheap way, because nobody has to come back.
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This work is quoted. Quotes are free for properties within 5 km of our Sutherland Shire office. Beyond 5 km a site inspection is charged at $250 inc. GST, and the written quote follows the inspection; the inspection fee may be credited against the job at our discretion.
We are a specialised service, so we may not be local to you. If you are outside Sydney or more than 40 km from our office, we can still come to you, but the extra travel means an extra travel charge. All travel charges are set out in our terms and conditions.
Phone or photo estimates are free at any distance where the job allows, so most of this work is priced from photos and a rough distance before anyone drives anywhere.
What you get in writing
| Quote | Price | What it contains |
|---|---|---|
| Photo or phone estimate | Free | A ballpark from your photos, a rough distance in metres and your answers, before anyone drives anywhere. Free at any distance where the job allows. |
| Written quote | Free | Free for properties within 5 km of our Sutherland Shire office, after a look at the job. Valid 14 days. |
| Site inspection, further out | $250 inc. GST | Beyond that distance a site inspection is charged, and the written quote follows it. The inspection fee may be credited against the job at our discretion. |
Trusted on site by
Commercial fault and cabling work, done by the same technician who comes to your house.
Your options
What the house is built of, and the path the fibre ends up taking
| Why the installer stops | The path we use instead | What you end up with | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A colorbond roof, or no roof space | There is nowhere to run the cable above the ceiling, so the path is ruled outside guidelines and the job stops at the wall. | Conduit along the outside wall to the room the box should be in, or surface duct inside where the wall allows it, fitted to line up with the architraves rather than wandering. | The box where you wanted it, on a path that is visible outside and neat, and a connection NBN can finish on their return visit. |
| Double brick or rendered, no cavity on the route | Nothing can be dropped down the wall, and cutting into brick is not the installer's work. | Around through the roof where there is one, or outside in conduit and back in at the room, with a wall box where it passes through. | One clean entry point into the room, and the old phone socket left alone rather than reused. |
| A concrete slab, no underfloor | The short path is straight down and there is nothing under the floor to run in, so the box lands wherever the lead-in arrives. | Ceiling and cavity where the house has them, surface duct where it does not, and the router put at the end of one good run instead of beside the box. | A router in the middle of the house rather than in the garage, which is usually what the complaint was really about. |
| An old conduit from the street | A narrow fifteen-year-old pipe with right-angle bends, or one with mud in the bottom, will not take the fibre, and the installer will want a new one. | The old pipe is proved first, because sometimes it is fine. Where it is not, a new conduit and a draw wire go in on the same path or a better one. | A pathway NBN can pull through, and a yard that has not been dug up twice. |
| A new build, or a granny flat | There is no conduit from the pit at all, or one that ends at a wall with nothing inside it, so there is nothing to connect to. | Conduit from the pit, a draw wire in it, the path through the building and the sockets at the end. The flat's address has to be registered before a service can be ordered for it. | NBN ties their cable to the draw wire on the day, and the inside is already cabled rather than waiting. |
| A unit block | The fibre stops at the comms cupboard on the floor and running the lead into the apartment is not the installer's job. | The lead from the floor's fibre point into the apartment, surface-mounted where the slab allows nothing else, with strata's approval, which you get and we tell you what to ask for. | A service that reaches the apartment rather than one that is live in the cupboard. |
SourcesHide sources
Sources: NBN Co's published installation information on what its technicians will and will not do, which is what "outside guidelines" refers to; AS/CA S009:2020 for the cabling on the customer side. Our own fees and reports are in our terms and conditions.
Whoever your provider is, the answer is the same.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Something not covered? Call 02 9188 1577 and ask, or send it through the contact form and you get the answer in writing.
NBN says the cable path is "outside guidelines" and it's up to me. What does that mean?
The installer's job is a straightforward path from the outside box to an inside box. A colorbond roof, no cavity, a slab or a double-brick wall on the route is outside what they are allowed to do, so they stop and leave a note: the customer to arrange the cable path. We build that path; they come back and connect.
Can I get the cabling done before the NBN installer comes?
Yes, and it is the cheapest way. A conduit from where the outside box will land to the cupboard where you want the inside box, with a draw wire in it, and the installer pulls the fibre through in minutes and puts the box where you chose. Move the appointment back a week or two if the cabling needs it.
Where will NBN put the box, and can I choose?
The outside box goes where the lead-in comes up; the inside box where the shortest path lands, often the garage. Say where you want it in writing before the day and mark the wall with an X. It depends who turns up: many installers will do it, and if yours will not, the box is left where it lands and moved later.
Can the fibre go through my old phone conduit?
Sometimes. A fifteen-year-old narrow conduit with sharp elbows, or one full of mud, will not take fibre, and the installer will likely want new. Measure it, look for the bends, send photos. If it is done, the conduit page covers the new run, and you can dig the trench yourself to bring the price down.
Should I move my NBN appointment back until the cabling is done?
If you want the box in a particular place and the path is not there yet, yes. Cabling first means one visit from the installer and the box where the house needs it. Cabling after means a second NBN visit, or a box relocation. Put the appointment date in the form and we work to it.
The installer refused to run it where I wanted. What now?
Do not let them leave without connecting you. Have them put the box and the cable where they land, get the service working, and we move or extend it afterwards. A connected box in the wrong place is a cabling job; an unconnected house is another appointment and more waiting.
What happens to my phone line when I upgrade to fibre?
The copper line is switched off with the upgrade and the home phone runs through the router. The handset plugs into the router's phone port, or we re-terminate the old wall sockets onto it so the phones you have keep working where they are. It is the most common second job on these calls.
What does NBN's installer do, and what do you do?
Their network to the box: the lead-in from the pit, the outside box, the inside box, the connection. Ours is the cabling on your side of it: the conduit on your property, the path through the house, the position you want, the cable to the rooms, the switch beside the box. We do not touch their network.
Do I need new cabling inside the house to get the full speed?
Often. Moving the inside box upstairs on one old cable puts a bottleneck on a gigabit service. Leave the box where the fibre lands, put a switch beside it, and run proper cable to the rooms that need it, with WiFi for the rest. That is the data cabling page's job, quoted with the upgrade cabling in one visit.
I'm in a unit block. How does the fibre upgrade reach my apartment?
The fibre stops at a comms cupboard on your floor or at the building's frame, and somebody has to run the lead from there into your apartment, surface-mounted where the slab allows nothing else. Strata approval is yours to get; we tell you what to ask for. Building managers start on the fibre to the building page.
Can my granny flat get fibre?
Only to a registered address: council registers the flat, then a provider can order. Until then the flat shares the house's service over a cable from the house's box, which has spare ports on FTTP. The granny flat guide has the full version, from the council form to the trench between the buildings.
How much does the cabling for an FTTP upgrade cost?
It is quoted, because a short conduit run and a new-build lead-in are different jobs. Send three photos and a distance and we quote from those, without a visit, within the free-quote distance in the terms. Beyond it a site visit is the service call, which per the terms may be credited. NBN's part we never price.
Dig deeper
Guides for this job
5 guides
- 20Aug
Guide
NBN Box Lights Explained: Flashing Blue, Red or Clicking
What the lights on your NBN box mean on fibre, HFC and fibre to the curb: why it clicks, flashes blue or shows red, and what to do before you ring anyone.
Read the guide › - 13Aug
Guide
NBN FTTP Upgrade: Fibre to the Premises Explained
What NBN fibre to the premises (FTTP) is, how the fibre upgrade works, where NBN puts the two boxes, and the cabling you may need before or after the install.
Read the guide › - 15Sept
Guide
Granny flat NBN: your own service, or share the house's?
Can a granny flat have its own NBN? How your provider gets the flat onto nbn, sharing the house's service over a cable, and what to lay before the slab.
Read the guide › - 29Nov
Guide
Speed Test: Check Your NBN and Internet Speed
Free NBN and internet speed test. Check your download, upload and ping, see what a good result is for your plan, and what to do when the speed falls short.
Read the guide › - 15June
Guide
Best Modem for NBN and Best NBN Router: 12 Picks by NBN Type
The best modem for NBN and the best NBN router, with a pick for every NBN type: a DSL modem router for a phone socket, a WAN router for an NBN box.
Read the guide ›
FTTP Upgrade
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